'They could have found him': Grieving father angry RCMP didn't search bush for fleeing son

Devin Ashley McKay's frozen body was found in the woods a week after he fled from police in a remote part of central Manitoba — and now his family wants to know why officers didn't look for him until he'd been missing for almost a week.

Eli McKay, from O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, on the northwest shore of Lake Manitoba, is mourning the death of his 29-year-old son, whose body was found six days after an encounter with RCMP.

"I feel angry and sad, and that should never happen. There's a lot of people mad about it," said McKay, who has many questions about what led to his son's death.

After receiving an initial missing person report on Jan. 4, RCMP conducted patrols in Crane River but couldn't find the missing man, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba — the province's police watchdog agency — said in a Tuesday news release.

The next day, officers returned to the area on Provincial Road 481, where Devin was last seen.

The IIU said officers found him dead in the woods, where they believe he succumbed to hypothermia.

"The cops … came here and told me, 'We found him,' but that was too late, I guess. Because they … waited about four days before they come and look for him," McKay said.

He said his grandson, Nathan McKay, helped move Devin's body from the spot where he was found by police. Nathan told him the body was less than 200 metres from the road, said Eli McKay.

"It was wintertime and he was cold.… I don't know why they didn't go into the bush and look for him. They could have found him."

Ellis Beaulieu, Devin's older brother, said he got a call that same day, informing him the body had been found and Nathan was there. 

"He was covered in snow and frozen to the ground," Beaulieu said. "He had no shirt on and no shoes."

Eli McKay said it wasn't long before his son's absence was noticed by family and friends. He was usually active on Facebook and could be seen regularly out in the community, talking to people and driving a big, loud truck.

When nobody was able to contact him, people knew something was wrong, his father said.

McKay filed the Jan. 4 missing person report at the local police station.

"I asked … 'Did you go in the bush and go look for him?'" McKay said. "They said, 'No, we didn't.'''

McKay said members of the Independent Investigation Unit will be speaking with his family on Thursday as part of its probe into the circumstances that led to Devin's death. The unit investigates all serious incidents involving police officers in the province.

In a statement provided to CBC on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the RCMP said on the morning of Dec. 30, members of the Ste. Rose du Lac detachment responded to a robbery in the rural municipality of Lakeshore.

The statement said four people kicked in the door of a rural residence, demanded items from the homeowner and fled in the victim's vehicle, then went to a property belonging to the municipality and stole another vehicle.

Suspects were later found on Provincial Road 481, south of Crane River. 

When police arrived, they found four people trying to dig the vehicle out of the ditch. A man ran into the bush, while three other suspects, one male and two female, were arrested without incident. They face multiple charges.

McKay says RCMP did not follow or attempt to look for Devin even though the moon was bright and the night was frigid. The nearest Environment Canada weather station, in Dauphin, reported temperatures approaching –20 C at the time of the arrests.

When asked about McKay's allegations, both the RCMP and IIU said they could not provide further details while the investigation is ongoing.

Beaulieu said his brother had five children and many siblings, nephews and nieces who all miss his smiling face and eagerness to help out where he could.

"I'm kind of still in shock," Beaulieu said. "I don't know how to react."

McKay said Devin experienced alcohol addiction, made worse when his mom died of COVID-19 in July 2021. He had emotional issues and needed help, but alcohol became a "temporary solution."

"That's when he got worse," Beaulieu said. "He resorted to a lot of alcohol … as a Band-Aid, just to numb his pain."

McKay said it's a heartbreaking situation because he feels like police failed to see the humanity in his son.

"They could have done better," he said.