Man’s body found a month after presumed drowning off coast of Nanaimo

Mounties say that the body of a 59-year-old man missing and presumed drowned for nearly a month has been recovered off the coast of Nanaimo.

First responders received a 911 call about a woman in the water between Newcastle and Protection islands on the evening of Monday, April 11.

Callers to 911 said they heard yelling and screaming involving a man and a woman for about 45 minutes before it happened.

While the woman, 58, was found “clinging to life” and transported to hospital, the man was missing and later presumed drowned, RCMP said.

Crews including the RCMP marine vessels, a helicopter and a dive team launched a wide-scale search for the missing man but were unable to find him, even pinging his cell phone with no luck.

Police confirmed to CHEK News that a nearby resident spotted the man’s body on the surface of the water Monday near Protection Island.

RCMP attended and recovered the body and said an autopsy will be performed.

Police have not said whether the man’s death is considered accidental or suspicious.

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