A body was discovered in a brush fire after fire crews doused the blaze near Highway 97 at the north end of Vernon late Friday night.
Vernon RCMP discovered the body after being called to assist on the fire at Highway 97 and 48th Avenue.
Fire crews contained and extinguished the fire, which most likely originated in an encampment site on the west side of the highway.
A resident of the area, Jason Loewen, told Castanet Saturday that his wife heard a “big boom” at about 11 p.m. When he went to investigate he saw flames in the distance.
A 911 dispatcher told Loewen they had already received calls about a tree on fire in the area.
“It caught the field on fire and just shortly after I called it took five minutes and the fire department arrived,” Loewen previously said.
He’d also said RCMP responded to the scene as well as fire crews. He said at around 2:30 a.m. what he believed to be fire crews put lights on the field.
RCMP say first responders found a deceased person in the burned area and RCMP conducted an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the person’s death. No criminality is suspected.
“BC Coroners Service is now conducting an independent and concurrent fact-finding investigation to determine how, where, when and by what means the person came to their unexpected death,” say RCMP in a statement.
The deceased person's details are not being released pending identity confirmation and next-of-kin being notified.
