Months before her death, RCMP were notified about Lumby woman's safety

Four months before the body of Tatjana Stefanski was found on a rural road outside Lumby police had been notified about her safety. Today, May 24, BC's police watchdog confirmed it has opened an investigation into how police dealt with the situation. Stefanski was found dead on Mabel Lake Road April 15, the day after police reported her missing after she'd last been seen getting into a vehicle with her ex-husband Vitali Steffan. Steffan was arrested shortly afterwards, and then released. No charges have been laid. BC's police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, has a mandate to determine what, if any, role police action or inaction may have played in the Stefanski's death. The Independent Investigations Office release says in December 2023, the Lumby and Vernon RCMP detachments both received a report indicating concern for the safety of a woman.  The office says the RCMP Southeast District Major Crimes Unit and the BC Coroners Service are now investigating Stefanski's death. "Given the complexity of all investigations into this matter, no further information will be provided at this time," the police watchdog says in the release. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .