May 1 2020
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rooney-death-undetermined-1.5549696
''Almost 10 years after an Australian foreign worker disappeared in mysterious circumstances and was later found dead on a B.C. mountain, a coroner has ruled the cause of his death is "undetermined."
''A recent report from the B.C. coroner's office shed little further light on what might have happened to him.
"A cause of death could not be established given the elapsed time between presumed death and discovery," coroner Margaret Janzen wrote in her report.
She did find fractures that occurred at or near the time of his death to his sternum and a rib and concluded the cause of his death was "undetermined."
''Rooney's mother, Sharron Rooney, said her family is glad to finally receive the report so they can put the process behind them, but they were disappointed that the coroner did not make recommendations for new RCMP protocols in missing persons cases to prevent a repeat of what she says was neglect in investigating her son's disappearance. ''
Rooney's body was found seven years later on Hardy Mountain in Grand Forks, a small community near the U.S. border. (Jake Boone/CBC)
''Another mystery is why he was beaten not long before he died. With a bruised face and bleeding from both ears, Rooney went to the Boundary Hospital in Grand Forks.''
''The Rooneys met with volunteers who had helped search for their son, including search-and-rescue manager Barry Savitskoff, who organized a search every year until the remains were found.
"I was up on the mountain with [Sharron Rooney] and Steve for a good three to four hours sitting at the same spot where he was found," said Savitskoff. "We had a lot of laughs and talked about him''.
