Authorities have identified a cyclist found dead in Milton on Thursday morning as Ignatio Viana an 81-year-old from Mississauga. The cause of his death was still unknown at the time of this report.
Viana went missing nearly a week ago as reported by the Halton police.
It happened that a cyclist riding in the area of Lower Base Line W., east of 6th Line in Milton, around 10:30 a.m. discovered a male cyclist in a trench. He then reported the case to the police.
When the police arrived at the scene, Viana has already died.
A police spokesman said, “We believe at this time that it is the missing cyclist that was reported from Peel Region. We are working with Peel Regional Police on that this morning,” Halton Police Inspector Ivan L’Ortye said at the scene Thursday afternoon.
Halton Police Inspector Ivan L’Ortye said “At the present time, it’s a coroner’s case. Our collision reconstruction unit is here obviously just to make sure, rule out any cause that we can. So they are here, our forensic identification bureau is also here, looking at the scene, taking photographs.”
The 81-year-old man was known to ride long distances. Prior to his death, he had previously ridden more than 400 kilometers in a single day, police said.
Viana’s family had reported that he left home in the area of Erin Mills Parkway and Folkway Drive to go for a bike ride between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. last Friday.
“He’s a strong, fit, old man. He’s 81 but he doesn’t look 81. He’s extremely mentally sharp, he’s extremely fit. He’s used to cycling every day, he cycles 50 kilometers a day on a usual day,” Viana’s niece said in a video statement released by Peel police Thursday morning.
“Halton Regional Police obviously encourages anybody that may have a dashcam or anyone that was driving this route, if they saw this cyclist riding along Lower Baseline, near the border with Peel…we would like to hear from them,” L’Ortye added to his statement.