The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is assisting the RCMP with the investigation into the homicides of Ryan Daley and Dan Archbald, two men found dead in Ucluelet after a sailing trip from Panama.
U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson Jodie Underwood told the Times Colonist that the DEA is assisting the RCMP, but could not comment specifically on why the department is involved.
“DEA has 92 foreign offices in 70 countries and we routinely assist and collaborate with our international law enforcement partners sharing critical intelligence information,” Underwood said.
She referred questions to the RCMP.
The DEA’s mandate includes investigating “major violators of controlled substance laws operating at interstate and international levels,” according to its website.
B.C. RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Janelle Shoihet would not speak specifically to why the DEA is involved.
“At this point, we are not prepared to provide specifics with respect to the homicide investigation of Ryan Daley and Daniel Archbald, however I can assure you the investigation is a priority for the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU) and remains active and ongoing,” Shoihet said Monday.
“More generally, I can tell you that in any investigation it is not uncommon for the police to engage/consult both international and domestic partners, in order to move the investigation forward.”
Two bodies were discovered near Ucluelet the week of June 10 by a person walking their dog. On June 29, RCMP confirmed that the remains were identified as Daley, 43, and Archbald, 37, and that the deaths were being investigated as a homicide.
Since then, the RCMP has been tight-lipped about possible suspects or motive.
Archbald, of Squamish, and Daley, of Jordan River, were last seen at the Ucluelet Small Craft Harbour on May 16 after returning from an eight-week sailing trip from Panama.
They had docked on May 13 and were seen on a surveillance camera leaving the harbour on foot three days later. Friends say they were planning to hitch a ride to Daley’s property in Jordan River.
The case was deemed suspicious and turned over to the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit.
Anyone with information on the homicides is asked to call the VIIMCU tipline at 250-380-6211.
