Body found in burned vehicle in Maple Ridge, homicide investigators called
Homicide investigators have been called after a body was found in a burned vehicle in Maple Ridge Thursday night.
Ridge Meadows RCMP said in a news release Friday that they were called to the 14300 block of 256th Street around 11:15 p.m. for "a report of a vehicle fully engulfed."
After the Maple Ridge Fire Department had extinguished the blaze, police searched the vehicle and located a body.
Police towed a vehicle covered by a tarp late Friday afternoon. Burn marks could be seen on the ground along the remote gravel road where the vehicle was found.
Police described the discovery as a "suspicious death."
"It is still in the early stages of the investigation and the Ridge Meadows RCMP will be working with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT)," Mounties said in their release.
"It is unknown at this time if this is related to the Lower Mainland gang conflict."
Earlier this week, two men were fatally gunned down in Coquitlam. Police have said one of the victims, Ramin Salam, was allegedly associated with gang members. RCMP said a third victim, who survived, appears to have gang ties as well. In the last update from RCMP, police were still working to identify the second man who died.
There has been a string of violent and alarming incidents in the Lower Mainland during the past week, including a violent armed robbery that led to a shootout with police in Port Coquitlam on Tuesday. There was also a recent series of shootings and a kidnapping in the Interior city of Merritt.
The area where the vehicle fire occurred is near the north end of 256th Street, not far from the southern boundary of Golden Ears Provincial Park and about two kilometres south of Alouette Lake, according to Google Maps.
Anyone who has dash cam video recorded in Maple Ridge between the hours of 10 p.m. and midnight should contact the IHIT information line at 877-551-4448, police said. Witnesses can also contact IHIT by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.