VANCOUVER -- Mounties in the B.C. Interior say a newly discovered body is connected to an ongoing homicide investigation.
Creston police say they were called to the Highway 3 pullout near Summit Creek Bridge on Wednesday at about 7 p.m. They received reports of a man and woman in need of medical assistance after they were stabbed by a suspect who then fled in one of the victim's vehicles.
When officers arrived, a 40-year-old man from Calgary was in grave condition. In spite of receiving first aid, he died at the scene.
The second victim, a 25-year-old woman from the West Kootenay, was also seriously injured. She was taken to hospital where she later died.
"This investigation is in its infancy, as major crime investigators and forensic specialists deploy to the area to assist in gathering and analyzing evidence," said Staff Sgt. Scott Aschenbrenner in a news release.
"Investigators have reason to believe the suspect and the victims were known to one another."
Mounties later found the stolen vehicle about 70 kilometres west, near Salmo.
On Thursday morning, a front-line officer in Salmo was called about a man who appeared to be passed out near an electrical shed at a local motel. But when the officer arrived, it was clear the man was dead.
In a news release later in the day, B.C. RCMP confirmed the deaths were connected.
Mounties said the man found in Salmo is believed to be responsible for the double homicide in the Creston area.
They did not provide further details on his death, other than to say that "criminality is not suspected."
"We can appreciate this is not the outcome the victims' families may have hoped for but we hope this news brings them comfort in their grief," Ashenbrenner said.
Mounties say they will not be publicly identifying the victims or suspect in the case.
