Discovery of 2 bodies in a car in Montreal leads to double investigation

The discovery of two bodies inside a car in Montreal's Saint-Léonard borough has sparked two investigations — one by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the other by the province's police watchdog.

According to the SQ, Montreal police officers responded to a 911 call just after midnight on Thursday about two people inside a vehicle who were showing no signs of life. The vehicle was in the parking lot of an industrial building on Pascal-Gagnon Street. 

Officers quickly confirmed that the two people — a man and a woman — were dead.

Their ages and the cause of their deaths are not known, but police are saying there were no signs of violence on their bodies.

The SQ is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths. The bureau of independent investigations, known by its French acronym BEI, is conducting a parallel investigation looking into Montreal police's conduct.

According to a BEI news release Thursday afternoon, a person reportedly concerned about a relative contacted a Montreal police officer at around noon on Tuesday, but the communication was interrupted.

The officer made efforts to contact the person and members of their family, the release says. About five hours later, a relative who went to the person's residence called 911 to request police presence at the location.

Upon arrival, the police issued a missing person alert for both the individual and a family member who was reportedly residing at the same place, the release says. The police then made efforts to locate both individuals, who were later found unconscious in the vehicle.

Four BEI investigators have been assigned to examine the circumstances of the intervention with the help of the SQ. No further information is available at this time, the BEI release says.