The man found dead alongside Highway 97 on the Channel Parkway last week is believed to have died a natural death according to the regional coroner.
“The autopsy was conducted and the only significant autopsy finding was that he had pneumonia,” said regional coroner Mark Coleman.
“We are still waiting for toxicology results, and the final autopsy report will have the toxicology results and microscopic tissue analysis results. So we can’t confirm a cause of death at this point but there is certainly no injuries or anything like that. At this point it appears to be a natural death.”
Penticton RCMP were called around 8:45 p.m. last Thursday after a motorist had stopped along the Channel Parkway and noticed the deceased. Officers attended to the Channel Parkway by the old KVR railway overpass and confirmed that an adult male was found deceased in the east side ditch.
Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said at the time they were treating the death as suspicious, manly due to the location of where the body was found.
Police described the body as being that of a male in his mid-to-late 40s.
“Investigators also located a make-shift campsite in the area, indicating that the male could be a transient,” said Moskaluk last week.
Coleman said they are not releasing the man’s name as they are still trying to locate his next of kin.