By Ashley Legassic

UPDATE: Human remains found in Lac du Bois grasslands

Nov 1, 2018 | 1:48 PM

KAMLOOPS — The B.C. Coroners Service is assisting the RCMP in an investigation after a body was located in the Lac du Bois grasslands.

Kamloops RCMP have confirmed human remains were found in the area, but the deceased person has not been identified.

“We’ve been searching there since October the 3rd… and human remains have been found in this time frame. None of it has been identified yet,” Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jodi Shelkie tells CFJC Today.

Over the past couple of weeks, police have been searching the area for evidence in relation to the homicide of Troy Gold.

Gold, 35, was last seen on Oct. 1 and reported missing soon after. On Oct. 10, police confirmed they believed his death to be a homicide.

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There has been no confirmation yet on whether or not the found body is connected to the Gold case.

Police, however, have released more details into the homicide investigation. In a news release, RCMP say Gold was reported missing on Oct. 3 and early in the investigation, this case was determined to be a “high risk” missing person, which triggered additional investigative oversight.

As the investigation progressed and new information was received, the case was confirmed to be a “foul play suspected” investigation. Kamloops Serious Crime Unit took the lead, and by Oct. 10, the investigation revealed Gold had in fact been murdered.

“Missing person cases are treated with a high level of diligence in Kamloops detachment. They are a priority case when initially received and are under close scrutiny from start to finish. We have a dedicated missing person coordinator position for this very purpose. We typically have several missing person cases open at any given time, but these extra accountability and oversight mechanisms exist because you never know which missing person case may in fact be an undiscovered murder,” explains Staff Sgt. Simon Pillay in the release.

Serious Crimes investigators have spent plenty of time focusing on the Lac Du Bois grasslands area since the early stages of this investigation. Police have also relied on Kamloops Search and Rescue since the beginning.

“Unfortunately, the more we learned through the investigation and based on the results of our searching, it became clear that we were in fact investigating a homicide,” Pillay says.

Police are expected to leave the Lac Du Bois area today, and part of the investigation involved executing search warrants at two homes, one apartment and several vehicles.

“Our primary responsibility is to the protection and safety of the communities we serve; we must conduct professional, fact-based investigations regardless of the nature of the case or of the length of time it takes to do so. No one wants to see the persons responsible for any crime go unpunished. This case is connected to the local drug trade and these case are always more challenging to advance,” Pillay says.

Police say this was a targeted crime and RCMP don’t believe the public to be in danger.

“Organized crime is a top priority for Kamloops Detachment because of the violence that accompanies drug trafficking and the general criminal lifestyle,” says Pillay.

RCMP have suspects in this case, all of whom are known to police.