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RCMP, coroner investigating discovery of human remains in Roberts Creek

Sunshine Coast RCMP are investigating the discovery of human remains on a beach in Roberts Creek. RCMP said in a release that around 6 a.m. on July 11 a dog alerted two teens to an object on the beach below the 800 block of Bayview Road.
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Sunshine Coast RCMP are investigating the discovery of human remains on a beach in Roberts Creek.

RCMP said in a release that around 6 a.m. on July 11 a dog alerted two teens to an object on the beach below the 800 block of Bayview Road.

The teens went to a nearby home for help, and the homeowner contacted RCMP.

According to police, the remains were in “an advanced state of decomposition.”

The BC Coroners Service said the remains were partial, which is likely the result of being in the water for some time, which leads to disarticulation – something the Coroners Service said they’ve seen with body parts found on shorelines in the past.

“This has happened in past investigations with feet we found on shorelines across the province in the past decade and a half,” Andy Watson of the Coroners Service told Coast Reporter.

RCMP said they will be looking into outstanding missing person files as they work with the Coroners Service to attempt to identity the remains and Watson said a forensic identification specialist is being brought in to perform DNA testing on the remains.

He said the investigation is still in the early stages so there’s little other information they can release.

RCMP also said on Monday that a social media post from author and artist Douglas Coupland on July 10, the day before the grisly discovery, showing what appeared to be part of a human leg on a beach and tagged “Roberts Creek,” was an unfortunate coincidence.

Police contacted Coupland at his home in the Lower Mainland and confirmed that the photo was of a prop Coupland had used for an earlier project.