Police were called to East Sooke Park on Wednesday for reports that a body had washed up on shore, but it turned out to be a military training dummy.

Sooke RCMP were called by a boater who saw what looked like a body clad in an orange survival suit washed up on the rocks at Beechy Head, near Aylard Farm, said detachment commander Sgt. Jeff McArthur. Due to the conditions on the water and rugged shoreline, the boater couldn’t get close to look at the body.

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The boater took Sooke RCMP officers to the shore nearby and they hiked to the area. When they reached the rocks, officers found a Department of National Defence training mannequin, which presumably went adrift during an exercise.

The dummy “was suffering only minor abrasions and an acute barnacle growth on the left hand and forearm, but in good condition otherwise,” McArthur quipped.

The military has been notified and will recover their property.