Police have been cleared by the police civilian watchdog in a case where a man was found dead in bushes near Parksville.
Police were informed about 12:05 p.m. on March 24 that a man had been seen lying in a secluded, brushy area some distance from an unmarked trail near Little Mountain, south of Parksville.
The witness called police after leaving the area, and officers performed an extensive search based on information from one of his family members but could not find anyone.
The witness went back to site on March 25 and again saw the man, then called 911.
Police returned and found the man in a different area than they had searched the previous day, and confirmed he was dead.
It was “extremely difficult” to see the man given his position in a forested area off a trail, said the Independent Investigations Office, B.C.’s civilian-led, police-watchdog agency.
The IIO determined that police involvement had nothing to do with the death, basing its finding on police and civilian-witness statements and 911 recordings.
The agency is called upon to investigate all police-related cases that include death or serious injury.
