The intersection of West Saanich Road and Wilkinson Road in 2017. Scott Cooper was found unconscious at this intersection in June 1973. He died the next month. (Google Street View).
Saanich police are appealing for information regarding the mysterious decades-old death of a 20-year-old man who was originally found unconscious at an intersection in 1973.
At around 3:25 a.m. on June 9, 1973, Scott Emanuel Cooper was found unconscious at the intersection of West Saanich Road and Wilkinson Road by a passing driver. He was taken to the Victoria General Hospital (then called St. Joseph’s Hospital) and remained in a coma until he died on July 19, 1973.
Investigators were able to determine that Cooper had been downtown until around 1:30 a.m. He caught a taxi from Douglas Street and Hillside Avenue to the old Town and Country Mall (now the Uptown Shopping Centre). Police said at around 3 a.m., Cooper hitchhiked from the Town and Country Mall and was dropped off at West Saanich Road and Elk Lake Drive at 3:10 a.m.
According to police, one theory at the time was that Cooper may have been the victim of a hit-and-run, but that theory was never proven. Investigators spoke to Coopers family members, friends and witnesses during the course of the investigation but his cause of death was never determined. A coroner’s inquest held in 1973 were also inconclusive.
“Since 1973, Saanich police have conducted various additional investigative steps as advancements in science and technology take place. Scott Cooper’s family still lives in the Greater Victoria area and, nearly 45 years later, are still looking for answers surrounding Scott’s death,” Saanich police spokesman Sgt. Jereme Leslie said in a release.
Anyone with information about Cooper’s death is asked to call Saanich police’s information line at 1-888-980-1919 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Alexa Huffman
