No connection between police response, man's death near Vancouver Island trail: IIO

A cliffside is seen in the Little Mountain area near Parksville, B.C., in an undated image.

B.C.'s police watchdog has finished its investigation into an incident on Vancouver Island, concluding the actions of officers weren't connected to a man's death.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. began looking into the incident last month, after a body was found near a trail south of Parksville, in the Little Mountain area on March 24. 

At the time, the IIO said a bystander found a man "lying in a secluded area of brush" away from the trail. That witness called police, who "performed an extensive search based on directions from a family member of the original witness." However, they were unable to find the man.

The next day, the original witness returned to the area and saw the man was still there, so they called 911.

"Police arrived and found the man in an area below an unmarked trail, and confirmed he was deceased. This was in a different area than the one searched the previous day," the IIO's conclusion, shared Wednesday, said. "As well, it was extremely difficult to see the man given his position was well off the trail in the surrounding forest growth."

The IIO is called after all police-involved incidents that result in death or serious harm, whether or not there is an allegation of wrongdoing. In this case, the IIO's chief civilian director reviewed police statements, 911 recordings and witness statements and "determined there is no causal connection between any action or inaction of an officer" and the man's death.

The IIO said the provincial coroner is continuing its own investigation related to how the man died.