A homeless man in North Vancouver has been found dead in a bushy area where hed gone to sleep the night, RCMP have confirmed. Its the second time in just over a month that a homeless person has been found dead in the community.
A pedestrian found the man, who was about 60 years old, just before 10 a.m. Thursday, lying under a blanket behind some bushes close to the Low Level Road junction with Cotton Road.
Both the B.C. Coroners Service and RCMP Forensic Services were called to investigate.
Cpl. Richard De Jong said the place the man was sleeping near the railroad tracks couldnt be easily seen from the road.
An autopsy is being conducted to determine cause of death, but De Jong said police dont suspect foul play.
Its estimated the man died anywhere from 12 to 36 hours before he was found. Police had not confirmed the mans identity at press time.
De Jong said the man was sleeping in the open on a bed made of magazines and cardboard. There were no signs of a permanent camp, he added.
Its a very sad ending to an individuals life, said De Jong, adding police who come across people sleeping rough try to direct them to shelters and social services as much as possible.
Thursdays death comes less than a month after 53-year-old Doug Lalonde died when the abandoned shipping container he was living in caught fire in an industrial area.
Dave Newberry, community liaison worker for the North Shores Lookout Emergency Shelter, said the two recent deaths show how homelessness is a risk to peoples health and safety regardless of the reasons theyre out there.
He said it also highlights to need to push for more affordable housing, particularly for people who are considered hard to house.
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