RCMP say body recovered after man fleeing officers drowned

By Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal

The RCMP says a man’s body was recovered from the St. Croix River after he tried to swim away from police officers in St. Stephen, resulting in his drowning.

Crews from the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol and fire departments from St. Stephen and Calais, Maine, responded to search for the man, who went missing Saturday, according to RCMP Cpl. Matthew Leblanc-Smith.

Leblanc-Smith said officers on patrol along Milltown Boulevard in St. Stephen ran into the man, who had been wanted on unendorsed warrants. When they approached him, he fled, Leblanc-Smith said, and was last seen entering the river near King Street and Budd Avenue when he “began swimming toward the U.S. border.”

“While in mid-river, the individual appeared to struggle and then went underwater and did not resurface,” Leblanc-Smith told Brunswick News in an email Monday.

Police said marine units using drones and thermal imaging were deployed to help with the search, and on Sunday officers with an RCMP underwater team recovered the man’s body “near the point of entry” into the river, Leblanc-Smith said.

Leblanc-Smith declined to confirm details about the man or about the nature of the warrants, citing privacy and the integrity of the investigation. Unendorsed warrants differ from endorsed warrants in that the person arrested is to be held in custody until their next court appearance, according to the Criminal Code.

The RCMP said that the case was referred to the Serious Incident Response Team, which investigates incidents involving death, serious injury or sexual assault involving a police officer.

SIRT spokesperson Khalehla Perrault said Monday that the agency was contacted Saturday by RCMP and “is reviewing all available information.” She said the agency would notify the public if it determined that the case meets its mandate to take over the investigation.

“Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the deceased during this difficult time,” Leblanc-Smith wrote in the email. “The RCMP extends its appreciation to all partner agencies and volunteers who assisted in this operation.”