B.C.’s civilian-led police watchdog is investigating after police located man’s body near Parksville on Monday — a day after they first tried and failed to find him.
The Independent Investigations Office said police were called about 12:05 p.m. Sunday after someone saw a man lying in brush away from a marked trail near Little Mountain, south of Parksville.
The RCMP told the IIO that officers went to the site and performed a search but didn’t locate anyone.
The person who made the report went back to the same area on Monday about 11:10 a.m. and found the body in the same location.
Police again went to the site, this time accompanied by paramedics, and confirmed the man was dead.
The IIO was notified the same day.
The agency’s investigation will look to confirm the details of the initial police search, what caused the man’s death and whether police action or inaction were factors in the outcome.
Anyone with information about the incident, including video, is asked to call the agency’s witness line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or to fill out the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.
The IIO investigates all police-related incidents that result in serious harm or death.
