PARKSVILLE — The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) have cleared Oceanside RCMP officers of any wrongdoing after a body was discovered near Little Mountain.
Mounties were called to an unmarked trail area south of Parksville around 12 p.m. on March 24 after a passing hiker noticed a man lying down in a grassy area.
“Officers arrived at the trail network and performed an extensive search based on directions received from a family member of the original witness but were unable to locate anyone as described by the witness,” the IIO’s report reads.
The same hiker reported the body again the following day, March 25, with police again called out to the area.
The witness said the man appeared to be in the same position as they were when they saw him last.
A second search, in a different area, located the man who was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The IIO noted “it was extremely difficult to see the man given his position was well off the trail in the surrounding forest growth.”
An investigation into the man’s death is ongoing by the BC Coroners Service, while the IIO said Mounties did not contribute to his death.
“The Chief Civilian Director has reviewed the evidence – including police statements, 911 recordings, civilian witness statements– and determined there is no causal connection between any action or inaction of an officer and the Affected Person’s death.”
Reporting by the IIO did not specify why police did not connect on scene, or after the fact, with the witness directly.
The IIO is automatically summoned when a person is seriously injured or dies in an incident connected with police in B.C., whether or not there are allegations of wrongdoing on behalf of officers.
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