On Dec. 30, 2022, RCMP officers in Ste. Rose du Lac — about 210 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, near Dauphin Lake — responded to a call about an alleged robbery in the rural municipality of Lakeshore.

Four suspects — two male and two female — were found at the side of the road on Highway 481, south of Crane River, attempting to get the vehicle out of a ditch. Police say one of the men ran into the bush, while the other three suspects were arrested and charged.

According to the IIU report, police did not go back to search for the fourth suspect because they were understaffed and believed he had been picked up and taken to a nearby home.

On Jan. 4, 2023, the man’s family submitted a missing person report. The next day, police found McKay’s frozen body in the woods where he was last seen, the report says.