The independent investigations office (IIO) of B.C. says an earlier discovery would not have changed the outcome of a January 2025 crash west of Nelson that killed a 25-year-old man.
On the morning of Jan. 18, a 25-year-old man from Blewett was driving on Highway 3A when his vehicle left the road.
When he did not arrive at his destination on time, police were called, but he was not located until later that morning, deceased.
The IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency for the police in B.C. It investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
The IIO launched an investigation into the actions of the RCMP and Nelson Police after the man’s family filed a complaint about how the search was handled.
Both agencies were cleared of wrongdoing in June.
IIO civilian director Jessica Berglund released her decision on Nov. 20.
Berglund’s report said the man managed to phone a family member around 1 a.m., saying he thought he “flipped his car,” had hurt his back and did not know where he was.
Police were called to the scene at around 1:39 a.m.
The report said officers attempted to call the man, requested multiple cellphone location pings, and drove slowly along Highway 3A looking for any sign of a vehicle that had left the road.
One RCMP officer and one civilian walked the pullout area near Grohman Narrows but were unable to see any tire tracks in the dark. Berglund noted that tire marks were only faintly visible during daylight.
The report said police decided not to call search and rescue overnight because the search area was extremely broad.
One phone ping carried a radius of 650 metres, with police determining SAR would have faced the same visibility limitations.
The search continued into the daytime. A family member was able to locate the man at about 9:30 a.m. using a gaming app he shared with a friend.
Police then returned to the Grohman Narrows pullout and located faint tire marks leading over an embankment.
The vehicle was discovered far below, hidden by rocky outcroppings, and the man was found dead inside.
“The man’s vehicle was subsequently located a significant distance down the steep, rocky cliffside, obscured from view below rocky outcroppings,” said Berglund.
“Environment Canada records indicate that the air temperature during the night had been in the range of -8 to -10 degrees Celsius.”
Berglund said an autopsy determined the man suffered “catastrophic and non-survivable” injuries in the crash and would not have lived long enough for hypothermia to set in.
“The autopsy report noted no sign of hypothermia and said the nature of the man’s injuries meant that he would not have survived long enough for hypothermia symptoms to begin,” the report said.
Berglund concluded that officers “searched diligently over an extended period, in darkness, without any means to narrow the search area significantly.”
She found no evidence of police negligence and said an earlier discovery of the crash would not have changed the outcome.
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