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A woman who was found dead near the small town of Lumby last month reportedly went to the police four months earlier to complain about her safety.
The Lumby and Vernon RCMP detachments received a report in December 2023 indicating concern for the safety of a woman, says a release from the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO).
“The woman was subsequently located deceased on April 14, 2024,” the release says.
In mid-April, the Lumby RCMP issued a plea for help in locating Tatjana Stefanski “who “unexpectedly” left her home with a man in a black Audi A6 in the morning of April 13.
Photo Credit: Jason Gaudreault (Tatiana's boyfriend) via Facebook
On April 15, the North Okanagan RCMP said they found the body of a woman in a rural location on Sunday, April 14.
The Lumby RCMP named Tatjana's ex-husband in the original news release that was issued shortly after 6:30 pm on Saturday, April 13.
By the afternoon of April 15, her family had taken to social media speculating that her ex-husband was behind her disappearance, but the RCMP has never confirmed that.
Another news release issued on April 16 said police learned the ex-husband had been incorrectly named and the man who was originally named “was never and is in no way connected to our investigation.”
The RCMP Southeast District Major Crime Unit and BC Coroners Service continue to investigate her death.
Now, the IIO will be working to determine if police actions or inactions.
“The IIO investigation will now seek to determine what, if any, role police action or inaction may have played in the woman’s death,” the IIO says in a May 24 release.
“Given the complexity of all investigations into this matter, no further information will be provided at this time.”
Nobody has been charged in relation to Tatjana's death, which has rocked the small North Okanagan she lived in with her boyfriend and children.
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