Stewart McLean found dead in Virgin River homicide probe
Stewart McLean, the virgin river actor, was found dead after being reported missing, and investigators now believe he was the victim of a homicide. He was 45.
Police first reported him missing on May 18 after he was last seen at his Lions Bay home on May 15, 2026. The case has since moved from the Squamish Royal Canadian Mounted Police to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
Lions Bay search to homicide file
McLean’s remains were located in the Lions Bay area, turning a missing-person search into a homicide investigation. Cpl. Esther Tupper said investigators are collecting and analyzing evidence, reviewing CCTV footage and conducting interviews to build a timeline of his activities prior to May 15, 2026.
“As the investigation continues to unfold, homicide investigators are working to collect and analyze evidence, review CCTV footage and conduct interviews to build a timeline of Mr. McLean’s activities prior to May 15, 2026,” Tupper said. “We are pursuing all available leads as we work to find answers for the family, friends and loved ones of Mr. McLean.”
Integrated Homicide Investigation Team
IHIT is working with the BC Coroners Service and IFIS as it tries to establish how McLean died. The team said it believes the case is isolated at this stage, which narrows the investigation to one death rather than a wider public threat.
That shift matters for anyone following the case closely: once homicide investigators take over, the focus moves from locating a missing person to proving the sequence of events around the death, and the public line for information is 1-877-551-IHIT.
McLean’s screen credits
McLean appeared in Virgin River, Murder in a Small Town and Arrow, and most recently portrayed a barfly on a 2026 episode of Virgin River. His representation said he had been part of the film and television community in Vancouver for over a decade, and the loss now lands both as a criminal investigation and a sudden absence from a tight local industry.
The immediate next step is the evidence review now underway in Lions Bay and Vancouver-area interviews, because the case has already crossed from a missing-person report into a homicide file and police are building the timeline that will shape the next public update.
