While Kamloops Mounties have confirmed officers’ presence in the Lac Du Bois area and at a North Shore property are connected to a homicide investigation, they have not said whether the probe is connected to a man who disappeared last week under suspicious circumstances.
Mounties were seen in the Lac de Bois area north of the city on the weekend and were also at a property on Popp Street in Brocklehurst.
Sgt. Darren Michels told KTW police activity in the two areas is connected to a homicide, though he would not divulge more information.
Michels did say the general public is not at risk as those involved in the homicide being investigated knew each other. Mounties are expected to release more information on Wednesday.
It is not known whether the probe is connected to the disappearance last week of Troy Gold.
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The 35-year-old man was last seen on Monday, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m. at his Kamloops home.
Cpl. Jodi Shelkie said the investigation and information received by the serious crimes unit indicates foul play is a factor in Gold’s disappearance.
Shelkie told KTW foul play does not necessarily mean Gold has been killed; rather, it means his disappearance is not believed to have been voluntary and is suspicious.
“At this time, the RCMP are pursuing various investigative avenues in numerous locations around Kamloops,” Shelkie said, noting Kamloops Search and Rescue joined in the search.
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| Troy Gold has been reported missing and was last seen at his Kamloops home on Monday, Oct. 1. He has tattoos on the knuckles of his hands – spelling out “love” and “hate” – and a letter “G” on each hand. |
Gold has a lengthy criminal history, including a manslaughter conviction in connection with a stabbing death on a Kelowna beach in 2001.
According to a Kelowna Daily Courier story, Gold was 19 when he attacked 32-year-old Martin Cotey with a knife after approaching Cotey and his girlfriend on Okanagan Lake beach the early morning of Aug. 7, 2001.
“Armed with a carving knife and spoiling for a fight, Gold told Cotey to get off his beach,” the Courier story stated.
“Cotey, 32, tried to appease him and Gold stabbed him, leaving him to die. A pathologist said he would have bled to death if he hadn’t drowned first.”
Gold was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In April 2015, Gold was sentenced to almost two years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing a Kelowna bank.
In 2012, he served six months behind bars in connection with a robbery in Victoria, while also compiling assault and theft convictions in Sydney.
Gold is white, stands 5-foot-6, has short, dirty-blond hair and a goatee. He was last seen wearing black sweat pants, a grey hoodie, a blue and white Toronto Blue Jays hat and blue Adidas shoes. He has tattoos on the knuckles of his hands — spelling out “love” and “hate” — and a letter “G” on each hand.
