Vancouver police are looking for two men captured on a surveillance video in the minutes before a homeless Vancouver man was found badly injured near the scene.
The seven-minute video shows the lane behind 928 Richards St. in the early hours of March 7, close to where a passerby found Thomas Sawyer around 1:30 a.m.
Mr. Sawyer died later that day in hospital. Police say his internal injuries were severe.
"We're asking the public, if they do recognize someone in the video or can help us locate those witnesses, to call Vancouver police," Constable Jana McGuinness said Friday, adding that the two men in the video may be very important witnesses for the investigation.
In the video, Mr. Sawyer, who is carrying a bunch of flowers, enters the lane at about 1:15 a.m. A minute later, a small vehicle exits the lane and turns, heading west on Smithe Street. Two men enter the lane a minute after, exiting the lane 40 seconds later. Police received the 911 call alerting them to Mr. Sawyer's body about four minutes after the men exit the lane.
The cause of Mr. Sawyer's injuries has not yet been determined, but the Vancouver Homicide Unit is now sharing the investigation with the Collision Investigation Squad to discover whether the man's injuries could have been inflicted by a vehicle.
Anyone with information about the video are asked to contact police at 604-717-3012.