KAMLOOPS — UPDATE: Kamloops RCMP say they will look into missing persons cases as they seek a positive identity on a body found in the South Thompson River Wednesday.
The woman’s body was spotted by a passerby walking along the riverbank.
It was partially submerged in the river when it was found.
RCMP and the BC Coroners Service responded, and were able to extract the body within a few hours.
“The identity of the woman has not yet been confirmed,” said Cpl. Jodi Shelkie. “At this stage of our investigation, it’s not believed that a criminal offence occurred. We’ll continue to assist the coroners’ office with their investigation.”
The most prominent and recent unsolved missing person case in the area is that of Thelma Vaughan, whose car was found near the Lafarge Bridge along the same river on February 7.
Shelkie said investigators look into missing persons cases as they try to identify bodies that turn up.
“Definitely. One of the first places that we would investigate is previous people that have been reported missing. So we’ll definitely be looking into that person,” said Shelkie.
“At this time, we haven’t 100 per cent identified the body, so it would be premature for me to say if it is related to any missing persons previous files.”
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EARLIER: RCMP are on scene near the South Thompson River for the potential discovery of a human body.
While RCMP are not confirming a body was found, the BC Coroners Service is also at the scene on the north shore of the river not far from Sun Rivers.
Police are keeping media back a distance from the scene of the investigation.
We’ll bring you more details when they become available.
