British Columbia

Man charged after body of Japanese student found at downtown Vancouver mansion

The body of missing Japanese student Natsumi Kogawa was found at the Gabriola Mansion in Vancouver's West End, police have confirmed.

Natsumi Kogawa had been missing for 3 weeks

Vancouver police say the body of Natsumi Kogawa, 30, was found in the Gabriola Mansion on Davie Street. (Vancouver Police Department)

Vancouver police have confirmed one man has been charged after the body of missing Japanese student Natsumi Kogawa was found at a mansion in Vancouver's West End.

William Victor Schneider, seen here in a surveillance photo with Kogawa, has been arrested and charged with indignity to a human body. (CBC)

Kogawa's body was discovered at the historic downtown building known as the Gabriola Mansion shortly before 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

William Victor Schneider, 48, was arrested in Vernon, B.C., just before midnight the same day and charged with indignity to a human body. He remains in custody.

Police have confirmed he is the man seen with Kogawa in a widely distributed surveillance photo and there are no other suspects in this case.

Schneider has been previously charged with armed robbery, theft, possession of a controlled substance, breach of probation, break and enter, assault with a weapon and mischief.

Kogawa, 30, was last heard from by friends on Sept. 8, and had been the subject of a high-profile missing persons campaign. She had come to Vancouver to study English.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

Police were present in large numbers at the Gabriola Mansion after discovering a dead body there Wednesday night. (Dillon Hodgin/CBC)

With files from Farrah Merali