The family of 31-year-old Ryan Donard will not know for certain how their son died.
A public inquest was conducted into his death this week in Black Lake. The Stony Rapids man presumably drowned in the Fond Du Lac River on February 25, 2017 after encountering RCMP.
Police were called to a home in that community, but when they arrived a man fled on foot. It was reported the man went into the river.
The five-person jury heard testimony from witnesses, but could not come to definitive conclusions. “Jury was unable to reach a consensus on the classification of the cause and manner of death,” stated a Jury Findings Report released Thursday.
In the report, the cause of death and by what means, remains blank. The jury made no recommendations to prevent similar deaths. An autopsy was performed on the body.
Donard’s body was discovered by a float plane that June.
Since RCMP was involved in the incident, the death was investigated by Prince Albert Police.