Mounties in Nova Scotia have identified one of two deceased sailors whose remains were found this month in a small boat that had washed ashore on Sable Island.
RCMP Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said in a statement the remains of a 70-year-old man from British Columbia had been identified with the help of the medical examiner’s office.
The officer said police would not release the man’s name because of federal privacy laws.
The two sailors have previously been identified as Brett Clibbery and Sarah Packwood of Salt Spring Island, who set sail from Halifax on June 11 aboard a sailboat called Theros.
Friends have said they were en route to Portugal to hike the Camino trail.
Their remains were found on July 10 in a smaller boat believed to be a lifeboat.
The RCMP initially described the female victim as a 60-year-old from British Columbia.
Guillaume’s statement says the woman was actually 54.
The officer said the deaths are not believed to be suspicious and that the RCMP are continuing their investigation.
An article in the British newspaper The Independent said the couple’s GibSea 42 foot sailboat was solar-powered, and the couple had dubbed the trip The Green Odyssey.
It described Packwood, who was from Warwick, England, as a poet, musician and reiki healer.
It said police in Halifax have yet to rule out accidental collision, power failure, fire or suspicious circumstances, noting that one theory is that the couple was forced to abandon the sailboat after it was struck by a cargo ship that was unaware of the collision.
- With files from the Times Colonist
