RCMP officers who failed to find Langley teen overdose victim now under investigation

B.C.'s police watchdog says two officers were called to the scene where a Langley teen died from an apparent overdose, but left after they did not find the boy.

In a written statement Wednesday, the Independent Investigatons Office of B.C. (IIO) said it has launched an investigation to see "what role, if any, the officers' actions or inaction may have played in the incident that followed."

Carson Crimeni, 14, died Aug. 7 after being rushed to hospital. The teen's grandfather found him at the Walnut Grove athletic park that night around 9:30 p.m. PT.

Crimeni's family said it believes someone gave the boy drugs. Witnesses stood by and captured video of the boy overdosing, they said, which was later posted to social media.

The statement from IIO said two officers attended the scene after receiving a call around 8 p.m. — and hour and a half before Crimeni's grandfather found him — saying a complainant had seen a Snapchat photo of a youth from an unknown source and was worried about the boy.

"Two officers attended the location to conduct a welfare check but could not locate the youth," the IIO statement said.

The IIO is asking anyone who may have seen police officers in the area to contact the IIO witness line at 1-855-446-8477.

The IIO is an independent civilian B.C. police oversight agency. It investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.

Langley RCMP are investigating the circumstances surrounding Crimeni's death.

The IIO statement said that due to circumstances surrounding the integrity of the RCMP investigation, it is only now the IIO can release this information regarding the investigation.