A man found dead near a burning car in North Vancouver was not a victim of foul play, according to RCMP investigators.
Firefighters came across the unidentified victim in a wooded area near the end of Rondoval Crescent sometime around 11: 30 p.m. Feb. 8. They were in the area to put out a burning dark-coloured Honda that had exploded into flame on a nearby road a short time before.
Initially, police suspected the man might have been the victim of a targeted killing, but an autopsy completed on Friday concluded he had died of self-inflicted wounds.
They have not released the cause of death, but a spokesman for the North Vancouver detachment confirmed Monday that neighbours heard a gunshot that night and that a handgun was recovered at the scene.
Investigators believe the man drove to the neighbourhood, set fire to his car, and then walked a short distance away to end his life. It's not clear why he set the blaze.
Police would only say the man was from the Lower Mainland.
