"It certainly seems like an isolated case" says RCMP officer about murder investigation

The RCMP in Yarmouth County are investigating a murder following the discovery of a body on the Eel Lake Road Sunday evening.

Corporal Dana Parsons of the South West Nova Major Crime Unit confirmed at the scene mid-Monday morning, July 13, that the police were likely dealing with a homicide.

However, as of late Monday morning, the police did not know the identity of the deceased white male. There had not been any local reports filed of a missing person.

The identity had still not been confirmed by Monday afternoon said RCMP Sergeant Michel LaCroix of the rural detachment. He said the police were estimating the man's age to be 30 to 40 years old.

On Sunday evening, July 12, around 7 p.m., a local resident who was walking on the Eel Lake Road saw a body underneath a canal bridge on the road. She ran to a nearby residence to seek help. She was understandably upset as she banged on the door. The resident of house said the woman told him she thought there was a body under the bridge. He went to look and also saw that a body was there.

The resident had been interviewed by the police and said he was asked not to speak to the media about specifically what he saw. Asked, however, what he thought about the discovery of the body, he said it was pretty shocking to have something like this occur in your own backyard, so to speak.

Members of the Eel Brook volunteer fire department had also been summoned to the scene before the RCMP arrived.

Hector Babin, chief of the Eel Brook Volunteer Fire Department, said members of his department were called to the scene because initially the concern was a presumed drowning. “As we arrived on the scene one of my captains said to me we better call the RCMP because this is not a normal drowning,” said Babin. “We secured the scene. We blocked the road so nobody would come and some of my firemen wouldn’t let people get too close because it’s a crime scene.”

He added it is a shame to have something like this occur in a small rural area. The Eel Lake Road runs between Ste.-Anne du Ruisseau/Eel Brook and Belleville.

The RCMP wouldn’t comment on the condition the body was found in, but Cpl. Parsons said it was evident that foul play was involved. “There’s a lot of things going around, I don’t really want to disclose that right now,” he said about the reports circulating in the community. “But it’s definite foul play and I would suggest that it’s a murder. That’s how we’re treating it at this point, but again, there are a lot of steps to do yet.”

Aside from the South West Nova Major Crime Unit, the Yarmouth rural RCMP detachment is involved in the investigation, along with RCMP ident officers.

The RCMP’s underwater recovery team was also involved in the investigation. Members of that unit arrived on the scene around 7 a.m. on Monday morning and retrieved the body from the water. They also searched the water for evidence.

Asked whether there was clothing or markings on the body that could help the RCMP in identifying the person’s identity, Cpl. Parsons said there were some things that the RCMP could work on. Because there have been no local reports of missing persons, the RCMP put out a request for information on missing persons from other jurisdictions.

As he was talking to the Vanguard close to the scene where the body was discovered, the interview was interrupted by a cell phone call Parsons received, in which the person on the other end was relaying the identification of a missing person. “No, it doesn’t sound like our guy,” Cpl. Parsons said.

Asked how long the body may have been in the water, Cpl. Parsons guesstimated that it may have been within the last 24 to 48 hours. An autopsy was to be conducted in Halifax that would provide more answers on the cause of death and also, possibly, the time of death. “It’s hard to say how long he’s been here. The water temperature preserves bodies a lot longer than if they were outside exposed to air,” he said. “And we never really know the cause of death until it’s medically determined and the medical examiner does that. They should also have a better idea of how long he’s been in the water.”

Asked about the location, Cpl. Parsons said it does fall within the description of being remote. While there are a couple of houses a short distance away, any activity could be carried out without really being in public view, the RCMP officer said. “You look at the causeway there and you throw in the disguise of darkness, there really are no homes that could see anything in the middle of the night so yes, it’s remote and if somebody was looking for a quick place to dump a body, here’s some water, they could pull up, there’s a stretch of road so you could see if there were vehicle lights coming in either direction. “It’s hard to say whether it’s somebody local or somebody from away, because it’s close to Highway 103,” he added. “Lord knows what goes through people’s minds.”

Asked whether local residents should be concerned, Cpl. Parsons suggested they shouldn’t be. “People shouldn’t be fearful. It certainly seems like an isolated case,” he said.

The Eel Lake Road had been barricaded from both directions since Sunday evening. The road was expected to remain closed to traffic until sometime Monday afternoon.

The Yarmouth County Ground Search and Rescue Team was brought in Monday afternoon to assist the RCMP with an evidence search of the area.

During the day RCMP officers went door to door in the community to question local residents.

Asked if there is anything the public can do to assist the RCMP in their investigation, Cpl. Parsons said if anyone saw or heard anything out of the ordinary in the 48 hours preceding when the body was discovered they should call the Yarmouth rural detachment at 902-742-9106 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477(TIPS). “Anybody that saw anything over the weekend, over the last 48 hours, any strange vehicles, suspicious persons, noises, I would suggest it would have been nighttime, they can contact us,” Cpl. Parsons said.