Canadian actor Stewart McLean, who appeared in an episode of Virgin River, has been found dead in the Lions Bay area of British Columbia, and police are now investigating his death as a homicide. He was 45.
McLean had not been seen since May 15, 2026, when he was last at his home in Lions Bay. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Squamish received a missing person report three days later, on May 18, 2026, and turned the case over to Canada’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team on May 20, 2026.
IHIT said investigators are collecting and analyzing evidence, reviewing CCTV footage and conducting interviews to build a timeline of McLean’s activities before he disappeared. Cpl. Esther Tupper said homicide investigators are pursuing all available leads to find answers for McLean’s family, friends and loved ones.
The RCMP said shortly after McLean was reported missing that they were “very concerned for Stewart's health and well-being.” Police have since asked anyone with information about his death to contact the IHIT information line at 1-877-551-IHIT or by email at ihitinfo@.
McLean, who was sometimes credited as Stew McLean, had worked in the entertainment industry for more than a decade. His early credits included Signed, Sealed, Delivered: One in a Million in 2016, Arrow and Supernatural, while more recent work included Murder in a Small Town and Happy Face. He also worked as a producer and often filmed near Vancouver, including on Bowen Island and in Squamish.
Virgin River debuted in 2019 and its seventh season premiered on March 12, 2026. McLean’s appearance in the streaming drama was a small one — he played a barfly in a single episode — but his death has now drawn attention to an actor whose career stretched across television projects in British Columbia and beyond.
For investigators, the next step is not a release date or a casting update, but a timeline: where McLean was, who saw him and what changed after May 15. That answer now sits at the center of a homicide probe in Lions Bay.
