UPDATED: Social Media helps RCMP identify mystery cyclist found unconscious
By Nelson Daily Staff
The man who was severely injuried in a bike accident Saturday (August 1) in Invermere has been indentified said Columbia Valley RCMP.
Jacob Daniel McNeil of the Invermere area who found found unconscious in a ditch by two people passing by Saturday evening, was identified by friends when the story of the mystery man surfaced on social media.
McNeil, 25, is currently in Foothills Hospital in Calgary. where he has been put in an induced coma.
RCMP said McNeil, although from Invermere, was not living at home, instead moving around and was not deemed missing by friends.
He was found lying in the ditch after crashing his mountain bike while going down a steep hill and unable to make the turn.
However, through media and Facebook a person knowing McNeil contacted Columbia Valley RCMP with information on the unknown cyclist.
Police hope to speak with McNeil when he wakes up.
Shehovac says McNeil was on a mountain bike, going down a steep hill and unable to make the turn when he crashed.
Columbia Valley RCMP trying to indentify man found unconcious on side of road
Invermere RCMP are asking for public assistance after a young man in his 20s was found unconcious late Saturday night in Invermere.
RCMP staff Sergeant Marko Shehovac of the Columbia Valley detachment said the man was found lying in the ditch at the bottom of a steep hill by a passing couple at approximately 11 p.m. August 1.
“The man was discouvered by a couple on Kpokl Road,” Shehovac said from Invermere.
“The man was taken to hospital where he was flown to Foothills Hospital in Calgary.”
Shehovac said the man, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, remains in an induced coma.
Shehovac said he man has short black hair and a goatee. He was riding a Norco 27-speed mountain bike. The man had a backpack with hiking boots at the time he was found.
The man doesn’t appear to have been struck by a vehicle. Police believe the man may have lost control riding down the steep hill.
Shehovac said the Columbia Valley detachment has not received any calls about a man missing to overdue.
Columbia Valley RCMP have contacted detachments in BC and Alberta asking if there have been any reports of a missing man filed.
Shehovac said RCMP were unable to provide a photo of the man due to the injuries but are planning to send an officer to hospital soon to provide an image for media.
