Stewart McLean, an actor who appeared on Virgin River, has been identified by police as the victim of a homicide after he was reported missing in mid-May. Investigators say his remains were later found in the Lions Bay area, and the case has now been transferred to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
McLean, 45, was first reported missing on May 18 after he was last seen at his Lions Bay home on May 15, 2026. Squamish Royal Canadian Mounted Police began investigating after he disappeared, and police said evidence uncovered during that work led them to believe he had been killed.
The homicide team is now working with the BC Coroners Service and IFIS as it tries to piece together McLean’s final days. Cpl. Esther Tupper said investigators are collecting and analyzing evidence, reviewing CCTV footage and conducting interviews to build a timeline of his activities before May 15, and she said police are pursuing all available leads for his family, friends and loved ones.
IHIT said it believes the killing was an isolated incident, a point that may ease wider concerns in the community even as questions remain about what happened inside McLean’s orbit in the days before he vanished. Investigators have not said what evidence led them to the homicide conclusion, and that gap now sits at the center of the case.
McLean’s screen credits also included Fox’s Murder in a Small Town and The CW’s Arrow. He most recently portrayed a barfly in a 2026 episode of Virgin River, and his producing work included Please Look Away Vol. 2 and CLOUD Van-Demic!
Lucas Talent, which represented him for more than a decade, said it was devastated by the news and described McLean as a respected member of Vancouver’s film and television community. The agency said he would be remembered for his kindness and humor.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact investigators at 1-877-551-IHIT. For McLean’s family and colleagues, the central question is no longer whether he is missing, but how a working actor from a familiar local screen scene ended up dead and what the evidence now says about the last hours of his life.
