Vanderhoof- A chance encounter has resulted in a 20 year old Prince George man being detained in connection with the discovery of the body of a 15 year old Fraser Lake teenager Saturday night.

 

At around 9.45 pm on Saturday evening November 27, a Vanderhoof RCMP officer and a Fort James member were to meet half way to exchange some items on the highway between Vanderhoof and Ft St James.

 

As the Fort St James officer was heading south he noted a pickup truck turn onto Hwy 27 from an unused older logging road approximately 22 km North of Vanderhoof.

Given the time of night and area from which the vehicle had emerged, the Fort St James officer considered it suspicious and pulled the truck over. The officer identified the driver and as a result of conversations with the man and the officer’s observations, the 20 yr old was detained.

The individual from Prince George was the lone occupant of the vehicle when it was stopped. The officers summoned the assistance of a Conservation Services Officer in order to conduct a thorough search of the area.

"On his arrival, the conservation officer followed the vehicle tracks back into the area from which it had emerged. The area with fresh snow cover was undisturbed by little else, if anything but the truck which had been stopped by the officer. As the CSO examined the area he, located the lifeless body of the teenage girl at around 11:50 pm a distance away from the side road. The state of the young girl indicated that she had been murdered just hours before the man's arrest" stated Cpl Dan Moskaluk .

The 20 yr old man remains in police custody and officers continue to secure the scene Sunday night. The cause of death is not being released at this time.