On Dec. 30, 2022, RCMP officers in Ste. Rose du Lac — about 210 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, near Dauphin Lake — responded to a call about an alleged robbery in the rural municipality of Lakeshore.

Four suspects — two male and two female — were found at the side of the road on Highway 481, south of Crane River, attempting to get the vehicle out of a ditch. Police say one of the men ran into the bush, while the other three suspects were arrested and charged.

According to the IIU report, police did not go back to search for the fourth suspect because they were understaffed and believed he had been picked up and taken to a nearby home.

On Jan. 4, 2023, the man's family submitted a missing person report. The next day, police found McKay's frozen body in the woods where he was last seen, the report says.

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[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hmm. In the absence of something like bodycam footage, difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was anything more than a communications screwup going on here. Not pressing charges was probably the correct decision. That doesn't mean there was no wrongdoing (or that there was), just that hauling it into court with no chance of a conviction wouldn't have helped anyone.

The main lesson to be taken from this is that you probably shouldn't run off into the woods in winter without the correct clothing and equipment no matter who or what is chasing you. Ultimately, that's what killed this guy.

[–] BreadOven@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I'm not a fan of (most) cops, but I agree. Even if they weren't understaffed, I'm sure you're not required to chase someone in dangerous conditions? I have no clue about that though.

But yes, body cam footage or something similar would be needed to confirm anything.