Missing Vancouver man Suleiman Khawar’s remains found, police investigating

A sad ending to a case of a missing man from Vancouver. Police say the body of Suleiman Khawar was recovered from False Creek Monday morning.

The 23-year-old was missing for 11 days after being last seen on May 25 at Mansion Night Club near West Georgia and Thurlow streets in downtown Vancouver.

On May 27, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said Khawar told his family he was on his way home but never showed.

Police say a boater found Khawar around 8:30 a.m. near Granville Island. The BC Coroners Service is now investigating.

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Speaking to CityNews, Sgt. Steve Addison says while there are similarities between Khawar’s death and the death of Irshad Ikbaal, there is no “evidentiary link” that police have discovered between the two cases.

“They’re both very tragic cases that are still under investigation. But at this point, there’s no indication that the two cases are connected. Right now, it’s just a coincidence that this has happened. There’s no evidence or indication that the two cases are connected,” he said.

Ikbaal’s body was found in False Creek on May 18, just two weeks prior to the disappearance of Khawar. The cause of the man’s death has not yet been determined, with the VPD saying the coroner is also looking into the matter.

The VPD adds its “investigation into Irshaad’s disappearance remains open.”

Addison says police are working on piecing together Khawar’s final moments so they can provide answers to his family, friends, and loved ones, to “help them fully understand what happened.”

“We have spoken to the people he was with. We’ve done everything that we always do in a missing persons investigation — which is now 12 days old — which involves looking at speaking to people he was with, looking for people that he may have interacted with around the time that he went missing, doing video canvases, looking at cell phone, bank records, social media, and we’ve gathered a significant level of understanding about what was going on, and what happened.

“We shared information with Suleiman’s family and his loved ones, but at this point, we still have some work to do to fully understand how he got from where he was last seen to the place where he was found,” Addison said.

In a statement Tuesday, Khawar’s family says it is going through a difficult time as they process the loss of the youngest member of their family.

“Suleiman will be remembered for his kind, gentle, and empathetic nature, his sweet gestures, and his easy-going personality.”

“He will be remembered for his love of music, board games, and the outdoors. We would like to thank our friends, community members, the VPD, and businesses that have all supported us in the search for Suleiman.

“All your tireless efforts and dedication has meant so much to the family. We are incredibly grateful to all of you,” the Khawar family said.

Addison says the police’s Victim Services Unit is supporting Khawar’s family after the tragic news.

“The best that I can do is empathize with what they’re going through with the news that after 11 days of searching for a person who was very near and dear to them, a person that they loved very much and a person that they hoped would come home to, now have to process the tragic and devastating news that their loved one has died … I can only imagine is devastating for them.”

Police say his disappearance is still under investigation and is urging anyone who saw or interacted with Khawar just before midnight on May 25, or in the early hours of May 26, to call the VPD’s Missing Person Unit at 604-717-2530 or email vpd.missing@vpd.ca.

“We extend our condolences to Suleiman’s family, his friends, his loved ones. We also want to extend our thanks and appreciation to the community members who mobilized and came together, particularly over the weekend, to help search for him,” Addison said.

“In a case like this, when somebody goes missing under these circumstances, we always rely on the community, on that army of people who mobilizes. We saw it a couple of weeks ago with our Irshad Ikbaal and we saw it again just this past weekend with Suleiman’s family, friends, loved ones, [and] community members who came together and we really appreciate all of the work that the community does to help in the search.”

–With files from Sonia Aslam