The death of a homeless man in Lonzo Creek Park behind Save-On-Foods on Sumas Way is no longer being investigated as suspicious, police announced yesterday (Tuesday).
Abbotsford Police Sgt. Casey Vinet said although the coroner was able to conclude there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, the exact cause is still being determined pending the results of further testing.
Police and ambulance crews were called to the scene just before 11:30 a.m. on Friday, but paramedics soon left.
Vinet said that when officers arrived, they learned that a 54-year-old Abbotsford man was deceased.
Investigators on the scene taped off the forested area between the grocery store and the former Milestones restaurant location.
That area leads to Lonzo Creek Park, located directly behind Save-On, and is known to be inhabited by homeless people.
Some bystanders at the scene were upset and hugging one another. Jesse Wegenast and Ward Draper of 5 and 2 Ministries – who provide services and advocacy for the homeless – were on hand to lend support, as were staff with the Salvation Army.
Wegenast and Draper confirmed to The News that a homeless person had died, but they could not provide any other details.
Police are not releasing the man's name.