VICTORIA – The British Columbia Coroners Service has taken the unusual step of confirming suicide in the death of a Victoria-area man who disappeared last year and was not found for five months.
Ben Kilmer, a 41-year-old father of two, vanished last May after leaving his work van running on a residential road west of Duncan.
An extensive search found no sign of him, but a hiker in the Cowichan Valley discovered his body in October.
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The coroner has ruled Kilmer died of asphyxiation.
Andy Watson with the B.C. Coroners Service says the details in the public report were carefully considered and the chief coroner determined the public interest in disclosing the information outweighed Kilmer’s personal privacy.
A statement issued by the coroners service says “the brief summary in the coroner’s report establishes the facts, addresses speculation and quiets the public imagination.”
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