Investigators are now treating the death of two Squamish men as a homicide and not a random incident, RCMP said in a media release.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU) confirmed today that the human remains found near Ucluelet earlier this month, are those of two missing men, Ryan Daley and Daniel Archbald.
VIIMCU continues to investigate the circumstances around their disappearance and deaths but will now treat this as a homicide.
“Identifying Mr. Daley and Mr. Archbald is a significant step in this investigation. We can now focus our attention on answering the who, what, when, where and why, in an effort to determine who is responsible for their deaths,” said Inspector Dave Hall, Officer in Charge of VIIMCU.
Hall said the RCMP recognize the significant public interest in several missing persons cases on Vancouver Island, in particular the Archbald / Daley homicide investigation and the Ben Kilmer missing person investigation, there is no evidence at this time that establishes these investigations are connected.
Inspector Hall cautioned the widespread use of social media and the internet as sources of information risks drawing linkages that do not exist, or spreading false information that becomes increasingly difficult for police to untangle in their investigation.
The police investigations in both of these cases are active and ongoing. Investigators are in contact with the families of all three men and working to determine what has happened to them.
Dave Colwell says
We should take heed the advise from the police on this and so no one should comment or surmise anything until they have completed their inquiries…. other than this, of course!