Port Renfrew, BC - What began as a homicide investigation on the Pacheedaht reserve has concluded to determine that the cause of a recent death is “non-criminal in nature,” according to police.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on June 23 the Sooke RCMP were called to the community by Port Renfrew, in response to a report of a man with blood on him near Pachidah Road.
“As police attended, they also located an injured man who, despite life-saving measures, was later confirmed to be deceased,” stated the RCMP in a press release as the investigation was in its early stages. “Initial information led investigators to believe the death to be suspicious and was treated as a homicide.”
An arrest was made at the scene. The RCMP’s Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit took over the investigation, which eventually led police to rule out homicide.
“As a result of the police investigation, in conjunction with the ongoing concurrent fact-finding investigation being conducted by the BC Coroners Service, the death is no longer considered suspicious and is non-criminal in nature,” stated an RCMP press release issued on July 3. “The individual arrested has been cleared in this matter.”
The investigation is now in the hands of the Coroners Service.
With just under 300 members, the Pacheedaht are Vancouver Island’s most southern Nuu-chah-nulth nation. Their main reserve community is in the Port Renfrew area.
