VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - A Vancouver musician has been found dead in a suite at the Balmoral Hotel on the Downtown Eastside. Police are treating the case as a suspicious death.
Thirty-five-year-old Randy Ponzio was last seen on Tuesday when he left his Yaletown home to go for a walk.
VPD Constable Lindsey Houghton says when he left he headed for the Downtown Eastside. "[We'll] certainly be looking at any mental health history, any type of associations he may have had, locating and finding people who were apart of his life in the last few hours."
Ponzio's friends had said that it was out of character for the father of three to vanish.
His body showed no signs of any injuries when investigators found him. "He was in the Downtown Eastside, but what he was doing we didn't know. And that's why we're hoping people can come forward and help us recreate that time-line so we can either continue on with our investigation or rule out anything."
Police are asking for anyone who may have seen him recently to give them a call at 604.717.2500 or CrimeStoppers at 1.800.222.8477.
There are reports of a candlelight vigil will be held for Ponzio tomorrow at 5 p.m. outside the Vancouver City Centre Canada Line Station.
Friends are also organizing a
fundraiser for Nov. 29 to help his bereaved family.
Watch video of Randy Ponzio playing "Phantom of Smiles"