The search for a Lumby, B.C., woman who Mounties said went missing in suspicious circumstances over the weekend ended in tragedy.
Tatjana Stefanski, 44, was last seen at a home on Highway 6 in Lumby, just after 8 a.m. on Saturday.
She left the property abruptly in a black 2007 Audi that was found Sunday 80 kilometres from the home on Mabel Lake Forest Road.
At the time, police didn’t offer any insights into her disappearance. But, on Monday, they sent out a release, saying during the process of “investigating an allegation of an abduction that day, the North Okanagan RCMP located a deceased female in a rural location.”
“A male believed to be involved in this death was arrested in the general vicinity,” police said.
“On April 15, this male was released from police custody with a series of mandatory conditions to abide by.”
While RCMP didn’t release the name of the suspect on Monday, a day earlier police said they were looking for Stefanski’s ex-husband, Vitali Steffen.
“At this juncture, investigators believe that this incident is isolated and that no threat to the public exists,” Staff Sgt. Jason Smart of the Southeast District MCU said.
Stefanski’s children and partner said they are trying to process their loss and are asking for some time and space.
On Monday, just six kilometres from where the vehicle was found, RCMP major crime unit, search and rescue and coroner vehicles were seen clustered along a stretch of the road.
Investigators are appealing to the public that if they have video, dash camera or other, from along Highway 6 to the west of Lumby, within the Village of Lumby, north along Shuswap Avenue or Lumby‐Mabel Lake Road towards and up the east side of Mabel Lake between 7 a.m. on April 13, 2024, to 10 a.m. on April 14, 2024, to contact the Southeast District Major Crime Unit Tip Line at 1‐877‐987‐8477.
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