Two people have been charged after Saanich police spotted a bloodied, disoriented man coming from the backyard of a home at the corner of Tillicum Road and Kamloops Avenue early Monday morning.

Officers were already in the area responding to a shoplifting report at a nearby grocery store about 2:30 a.m. when they saw a vehicle that may have been involved parked at the Tillicum Road property. The injured man emerged from the backyard when the officers stopped to investigate.

article continues below

The man had blood on his face and clothes, and told police he had just escaped after being held captive.

“His injuries included a broken nose, broken ribs and several lacerations and bruising,” said Saanich police Sgt. Steve Eassie.

He said it was fortunate that officers happened to stop by.

“It was just the right place at the right time, that’s truly what it came down to,” Eassie said.

“We were fortunate to be there to assist this gentleman, he was also very fortunate to have escaped at the time.”

Eassie said it appears the victim was held for more than 24 hours.

“Based on the information that we’ve received so far and based on the limited observations that the responding members had, there is evidence to suggest that he was, in fact, held for a period of time.

“We’re still waiting for confirmation of how this all came to be.”

Officers found a woman and a man in an outbuilding and arrested them without incident. Others were found in the main residence and were later released. The location was behind police tape throughout Monday and remained cordoned off Tuesday afternoon. A search warrant was obtained Monday and a search started Tuesday morning.

Name Maya McKay, 45, and 38-year-old James Colin Walker are charged with assault causing bodily harm and unlawful confinement. Eassie said the house has attracted a lot of neighbourhood attention over a number of months and is “bordering on an unsightly premise.”

“The residence is something that we’ve been aware of for a short period of time.”

jwbell@timescolonist.com