The body of a 63-year-old homeless man has been found by Coquitlam RCMP in a van near Blue Mountain Park.

While police say it is too early to tell if the Lower Mainland's cold snap played a role in his death, it is not being treated as suspicious. His body was found Sunday afternoon.

He was known to police, who say he had no fixed address. If his death is connected with B.C.'s bad weather it will be the third non-traffic death since plunging temperatures and snowstorms hit the Lower Mainland.

His name will not be released until next-of-kin are notified.

For months, the man called the van his home.

It was usually parked outside of Blue Mountain Park and had become a fixture in the neighbourhood.

"In the summer, I heard him singing in the back in a different language,'' said a neighbour named Beverly. "He didn't bother anybody,'

Beverly's daughter lives across the street from the van.

She had often thought about going to give him blankets or let him come in to warm up. But she wasn't sure how to approach him.

On Friday night, she phoned the police when she noticed him running his van to keep warm.

"They showed up about an hour later and I saw them knocking so they must have talked to him. He was OK then,'' said Beverly.

The RCMP received another call about the van on Sunday afternoon.

When they went to check on him after a particularly chilly night where temperatures dipped down to minus 15, he was dead.

"Right now, we've ruled out foul play, the coroner has been called and all those questions, about whether the weather was a contributing factor or his health will be considered,'' said RCMP Cpl. Brenda Gresiuk.

Aldo Lecce heard about the man's death on the news.

He had often driven by the van. And came by to pay his respects.

"I never expected that,'' said Lecci. "He had a propane tank in the back of the van and I thought he could keep warm. I was taken aback from that,'' said Lecci.

For the last three years, Hope For Freedom has offered a homeless shelter at various churches around Coquitlam.

This winter they've been filled to capacity.

Rob Thiessen's outreach team approached the man living in the van several times, but they were always turned away.

"He had not been responsive to any offers of help and he was quite blunt about that. We attempted on a couple of times to reach out, but when he refused, we left him alone,'' Thiessen said.

Some have suggested that homeless people should be forced to go into shelters...

But Thiessen says it would become a civil rights nightmare.

Beverly keeps asking people what she should have done...and can't get an answer.

"With people dying out here in a nice neighbourhood, it's bizarre. I feel so bad. My daughter and I feel so bad,'' she said.

With reports by CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry and Reshmi Nair.