A civilian-led ground search resulted in the dramatic discovery of a body in a St. Catharines house on Saturday morning.
A heavy police presence was on scene outside the Raymond Street building after Niagara Regional Police responded to an ambulance assist call at around 10:30 a.m.
“(A) body had been located by a civilian volunteer search party looking for a local missing man,” said Niagara Regional Police Service Const. Phil Gavin via email.
“Prior to the arrival of officers, a disturbance broke out involving persons from in the house and the search party.”
Police did not identify the deceased, but searchers who discovered the body, including family members, said the person was Johnny Cronkwright, 32.
Cronkwright went missing Feb. 29 after leaving a family member’s home to go to a nearby store.
“One district detectives have been assigned to the incident. The identity of the deceased has not been positively determined by investigators,” said Gavin.
