The man identified as a person of interest in the murder of a B.C. teen has been arrested on an unrelated matter and is being held in custody, RCMP said Friday.
Nanaimo RCMP confirmed Steven Michael Bacon had been arrested but would not share why, other than it was unrelated to the death of 16-year-old Makayla Chang.
“We are not prepared to say where the arrest occurred or where he is currently being incarcerated,” spokesperson Gary O’Brien said.
“The investigation into Makayla Chang’s death remains active and ongoing. Mr. Bacon remains a person of interest in that matter.”
Chang was reported missing on March 22, 2017. Her remains were found two months later, when RCMP declared her death a homicide.
Police had previously identified Bacon as a person of interest in the case, and police had said Chang could have travelled to Metro Vancouver with the 53-year-old.
Investigators searched the Bruce Avenue property where he lived back in April 2017, and police spoke with him that same month in Sudbury, Ont.
In August 2019, Nanaimo RCMP put out a Canada-wide appeal for people to be on the lookout for Bacon, in the hopes of having another “sit-down conversation with him again.”
“He’s somebody we think has key information in this investigation,” O’Brien said at the time, adding Bacon was not a suspect.
Speaking Friday, O’Brien suggested Bacon was facing at least one charge in connection with the recent arrest, but would not say what that charge could be.
He added the lack of information about the arrest was a result of the open investigation into Chang’s death.
“We have an ongoing murder investigation, and Mr. Bacon has always been and continues to be a person of interest,” he said.
“That’s why we can’t say anything in relation to this.”
Chang’s father, Kerry Chang, took to Facebook to confirm the news, saying he had been notified by police.
“THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR KEEPING YOUR WORD,” the father wrote in a message directed to the RCMP. “NOW AN ADMISSION AND A CONVICTION WOULD BE AN ULTIMATE GIFT FOR US ALL.
“THANK YOU FOR YOUR PERSISTENCE…NOW THE HARD WORK BEGINS.”
Global News has reached out to Kerry Chang for further comment.
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