The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) confirms that investigators have been deployed to an area near Slocan.

At 1:20 p.m. this afternoon, two Emergency Response Team officers located the adult male who had been the subject of an extended search. There was contact made between the officers and the affected person. The affected person sustained serious injuries and died at the scene. No officers were injured. The IIO has deployed a Team Director and several investigators to the area; they are expected to be on scene at daylight tomorrow. The RCMP will ensure scene security until the scene can be turned over to IIO investigators. At this time, there is no concurrent investigation however the BC Coroners Service have been notified and remain involved.

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Southeast District RCMP announced Monday that 45-year-old Peter DeGroot, who has been the subject of a manhunt since Thursday, is dead. The five day manhunt is over. Supt. Frank Smart says there was an “interaction” between 45-year-old Peter DeGroot and two members of the RCMP’s emergency response team.

Unconfirmed reports say DeGroot was killed in a shootout with police, after he was discovered in a cabin. Police say DeGroot exchanged gunfire with officers on Thursday following a dispute the suspect had with another man.

Police say DeGroot fled into the woods, prompting a search that has involved dozens of officers.

RCMP source:

Statement issued by C/Supt. Frank Smart, Southeast District Commander “Earlier today, at approximately 1:20 pm, two members of the Emergency Response Team were in an area of Slocan near a gravel pit conducting a search of a cabin. Upon entering the cabin there was an interaction between the subject of the ongoing search and the two ERT members. We can confirm the suspect is now deceased. No police officers nor members of the public were injured.” “We must respect that the specifics around what happened when the individual was located is now subject of an IIO BC independent investigation. This was a serious incident and we are providing ongoing support to the families of the deceased as well as the police officers involved. ” “The scene has been secured awaiting the arrival of the IIO BC. As per any IIO BC investigation those present during the major police incident are now subjects of the independent investigation. ” “With respect to the parallel investigation that was launched after the initial call to police on Thursday October 9th, we can confirm that our efforts had wrapped up and we were in the process of releasing the scene of the initial incident and removing all police roadblocks and restrictions in the Slocan area. ” “We would like to thank the community of Slocan for the patience and understanding with respect to the police restrictions and requests over the past few days. A number of additional resources were called to manage the police investigation and search and our efforts worked to find the right balance between limiting or opening areas around Slocan as we addressed public safety issued. ”