The town made famous by the 1982 Sylvester Stallone movie First Blood is now known for the last act of Ryan Jenkins' life.
The 32-year-old from Calgary, wanted in California for the brutal murder of bikini model Jasmine Fiore, was found dead Sunday of an apparent suicide in a room at the Thunderbird Motel in Hope, B.C. Hotel staff found his body hanging.
The Surrey-based RCMP Federal Border Integrity Program confirmed Jenkins’ death at a 6 p.m. news conference.
Earlier Sunday afternoon, FBIP spokesman Sgt. Duncan Pound finally confirmed that Jenkins was in Canada and issued a public plea for him to surrender.
Jenkins was facing murder charges after the mutilated body of his ex-wife, Jasmine Fiore, 28, a former swimsuit model, was found stuffed in a suitcase thrown a trash bin in Buena Park, Calif., just south of Los Angeles Aug. 15.
Jenkins, a realtor-turned reality TV contestant, reported Fiore missing to the L.A. Police Department later that same day.
Fiore’s fingers and teeth had been removed and police took several days to identify her, only doing so by tracing the serial numbers on her breast implants.
Bail had been set at US$10 million.
Jenkins had not been seen or heard from since reporting her missing later that same day. Police believe he fled north in a BMW towing a speedboat. The vehicle and trailer were found in Blaine, Wash. It is believed he raced to nearby peninsula Point Roberts, Wash. -- where the boat was abandoned -- and walked over the border to Tsawwassen, B.C. Reports that Jenkins outwitted U.S. authorities in a boat chase have not been verified.
It is believed Jenkins fled to Canada to avoid the death penalty if convicted. Canada has historically resisted extradition of people to countries where executions are practiced.
After the nationwide manhunt began, a Nanaimo, B.C. merchant claimed a man matching Jenkins purchased mobile phone memory card. Police in Toronto pulled a Jenkins lookalike off an Air Canada flight from Vancouver.
Jenkins was a contestant on reality TV shows Megan Wants a Millionaire and I Love Money 3. Duane Chapman, star of another reality TV show Dog the Bounty Hunter, told the Calgary Sun earlier Sunday that he was ready to join in the manhunt if asked by Canadian police.
Jenkins’ mother lives in Vancouver. His father is a Calgary architect who denied helping his son elude authorities, but would not comment on advice from a lawyer.
Fiore, also known as Jasmine Kinkade, was a 28-year-old who met Jenkins at a Las Vegas casino and married Jenkins two days later. Jenkins was charged in June with assaulting Fiore, but the couple reunited.
