True Crime in the Great Outdoors

The most shocking crimes from national parks, camping trips, backpacker murders, and hiking incidents

StrangeOutdoors.com 8/31/20 StrangeOutdoors.com 8/31/20

The Kamloops Triangle - The British Columbia murders and disappearances

Revised October 2023

Between 2017 and 2020, five men mysteriously disappeared or died in British Columbia, Canada, in the area north-east of Vancouver, around D’arcy, Kamloops and Merritt. Despite extensive searches and investigations, only two bodies have turned up, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) remain baffled.

Is this the work of a serial killer, a criminal gang or something more mysterious in the “Kamloops Triangle”?

Marshal Iwaasa, 26 — last seen November 17, 2019

Marshal Iwaasa, 27, was last seen by his family in Lethbridge on November 17, 2019, and planned to go to a storage locker. He told his family he was returning to Calgary but hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Iwaasa's burnt-out GMC pickup truck was found by hikers on a remote forest service road near D'Arcy, B.C., on November 23, 2019. The location was close to the trailhead of the Brian Waddington Hut near Pemberton.

When he was last seen, Iwaasa told the family he would visit his storage locker, and the storage locker key and logs show his code was used to enter the facility and then, about two hours later, leave the compound.

Lethbridge police said that from the onset of their investigation, Iwaasa’s disappearance has been considered suspicious. Still, there is no “credible, corroborated or compelling information to suggest foul play or that the occurrence is criminal in nature.” Police said their investigation had determined that before he went missing, Iwaasa had “hidden the fact that he had stopped attending post-secondary classes.” “In examining Iwaasa’s personal affairs in the months leading up to his disappearance — including interviews with close friends as well as his financial, medical and social media activity — there is evidence to suggest he was experiencing stress in his life and had become withdrawn,” Lethbridge police said.

Ryan Provencher, 38, and Richard Scurr, 37 — last seen July 17, 2019, found dead one month later

ryan-provencher-left-and-richard-scurr-right

Ryan, 38, and Richard, 37, were last seen alive on July 17, 2019, in metro Vancouver. Provencher's white 2019 Jeep Cherokee was found on July 21, parked in a wooded area near Logan Lake. The lake is between Kamloops and Merritt. One month later, their bodies were found in a rural area north of Spences Bridge, 80 kilometres away.

The RCMP has said there was "criminal behaviour" associated with the case, but no further details or cause of death have been made public.

Police said they planned to travel to the southern Interior, and preliminary information indicated the men reached their destination, 35 kilometres northeast of Lytton, along the Thompson River.

In 2005, a then 23-year-old Richard Allan Scurr was arrested and subsequently sentenced to seven months in jail and two years probation for trafficking in cocaine and related offences. At the time, RCMP alleged he was a vital member of The Crew, a gang affiliated with the Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels.

Ben Tyner, 32 — last seen January 26, 2019

Tyner, a working cowboy, disappeared from the Merritt area after riding into the hills to look for cattle. His abandoned horse was found fully saddled on a forest service road northwest of the city two days later. Police said Ben was last seen at 2 pm, but it’s unknown when he rode into the backcountry or where he was heading.

Search and rescue teams scoured the area, including crews from Nicola Valley, Kamloops, Shuswap, Central Okanagan, Penticton, Princeton, Logan Lake, Chilliwack and Surrey. Police said nearly 40 search and rescue members were on site, along with dog services, snowmobiles and air support.

“We’ve had tremendous support from search-and-rescue teams across the province,” Merritt RCMP Const. Tracy Dunsmore said. She said it was “very unusual” for a seasoned cowboy to be separated from his horse.

Even after this extensive search, no trace of Ben has been found.

Ryan Shtuka, 20 — last seen February 17, 2018

The 20-year-old disappeared after leaving a house party at the Sun Peaks Ski Resort outside Kamloops. RCMP and hundreds of volunteers searched extensively through the village and its surrounding trails, forests and mountains, but few clues have ever emerged as to what happened to him.

Luke Neville, 48 — last seen October 9, 2017

Luke Neville was last seen in Spences Bridge on October 9, 2017, and his burned-out white 2003 Ford E250 van was found on the Sackum Forest service road 20km from his home the following day.

A cadaver dog search of the area in June 2018 turned up nothing. The Neville family erected a billboard on the Trans Canada Highway in Spences Bridge, asking anyone with information to come forward. Police say they consider the disappearance suspicious. Brother Mark Neville says the family has not been informed of any developments in the case. "No leads, no suspect, no news," he said. "It's all in the police's hands and up to them."

According to an RCMP spokesman, all the cases remain open in their police jurisdictions. "The investigators in these matters are familiar with other ongoing investigations," said Cpl. Christopher Manseau. "The only thing noted to be in common is that the missing persons or victims are male, and their geographic location."

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