Police say criminality is not suspected — but has not been ruled out — in the death of a man who died suddenly while dirt biking in a remote area of Ladysmith last week.
Police and paramedics responded to the forested area off Timberland Forest Service Road just after 5 p.m. on Feb. 21. Calls to 911 reported that a man was fatally injured while riding his dirt bike with a small group.
Witnesses at the scene also said they believed they heard firearms being discharged at the time of the incident.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit launched an investigation, deeming the death suspicious.
But on Tuesday, Cpl. Alex Bérubé, spokesman for BC RCMP, said there wasn’t “anything leading to criminality” in the investigation. However, he clarified a day later that criminality has not been ruled out and an investigation is still underway. Bérubé referred questions about the cause of death to the BC Coroners Service.
No arrests have been made and the BC Coroners Service is conducting its own fact-finding investigation into the death. The dirt biker has not been publicly identified.
Anyone with information is asked to call the VIIMCU information line at 250-380-6211.
CHEK News
