David Jeff was reported missing in August 2017. His body was discovered at the Domtar pulp mill in March 2018.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP handout

An autopsy by the B.C. Coroner's Service could not determine what caused the death of a man found near the Domtar pulp mill in Kamloops in March 2018.

David Jeff's body was found between a concrete barrier and the edge of a lime pond by Domtar employees who were cleaning the lime pond on March 7, 2018.

Jeff was 68 when he died, and he was displaced from Williams Lake on July 22, 2017 due to wildfires. He had no fixed address in Kamloops and was known live transiently in Williams Lake, often building shelters in the woods, according to a coroner's report recently obtained by iNFOnews.ca.

On Aug. 14, 2017, Kamloops RCMP looked to the public for assistance to find Jeff as he was last seen in Kamloops ten days earlier.

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Police were called to the pulp mill around 3 p.m. on March 7, when Jeff's body was found. He was found to be fully clothed and "dressed in layers," according to the coroner's report.

There were piles of materials in the spot where Jeff's body was found — a location typically used to pile snow when removing it from the yards, employees told investigators.

While the barriers at the southwest edge of the mill yard were used to block equipment and vehicles from getting too close to the pond, pedestrians were known to access the yard near the train tracks at the back of the yard, according to the report.

Transient people were also known to access outbuildings at the mill and the warm ponds to bathe, but there were "no reports of ongoing problems," the report reads. People were also known to camp across the road by the river in that area.

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The autopsy revealed that around the time of his death, Jeff had multiple fractured bones, including his arm, leg and a rib. There was no blunt force injuries, projectiles or signs of drug use at the time of his death.

Jeff had a history of hypertension, but he was not taking any medication.

It was clear, according to the coroner, that Jeff had been dead for some time before his body was found. The cause of death remains undetermined.

Kamloops RCMP ruled out any foul play after the autopsy was completed.

A Domtar spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

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