No criminal offence by police in failed search for B.C. woman found dead: watchdog

British Columbia’s police watchdog agency says officers in an Interior community could have done more in the search for a missing Indigenous woman who was later found dead. However, the Independent Investigations Office says in a report on the case that RCMP in Vanderhoof, B.C., did take many steps in the search and followed policing standards, clearing them of an offence. Search efforts by police and community members started on Oct. 11, 2023, for the woman whose body was eventually found weeks later by officers and a police dog. The investigations agency was contacted on Dec. 4, 2023, with a request to look into the handling of the case, and the report released Wednesday found that officers could have used a police dog on the day the search began but…

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