Human remains were found Friday morning about 100 kilometres north of Yellowknife.

It's believed the body is that of Jaxon Smith, a 27-year-old mine worker whose SUV sank beneath the ice on Giauque Lake in December 2007.

Smith, whose address was listed as being in Wetaskiwin, Alta., was travelling with two other men and was in the backseat of the vehicle.

The other two men escaped, but Smith’s body was never found.

Cathy Menard, the chief coroner of the N.W.T., said the body has been sent to Edmonton for forensic identification and a post-mortem. (CBC)

The chief coroner of the Northwest Territories, Cathy Menard, said his family and the mining company Smith worked for — Vancouver-based Tyhee Development Corp. — commissioned the search with the help of a team from the United States.

The body has been sent to Edmonton for a post-mortem and forensic investigation.

"If it is who everybody thinks it is, and is hoping it is, then a lot of that investigation has already been done at the time of the disappearance," said Menard.

Menard said the Coroner's office may be able to identify the body by the end of the week.