Body of murderer who escaped after 35 years in prison is found in B.C. waters

Body of escaped B.C. inmate recovered in ocean
Body of escaped B.C. inmate recovered in ocean
William Head Institution is shown through a security fence in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008. Inmate Ernest Jensen escaped the prison on June 28, 2026 and his body was found on June 29, 2026 in the ocean off the prison's shoreline.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Lam
Writer

The Correctional Service of Canada says the body of an inmate who escaped from a Vancouver Island prison on Sunday after 35 years behind bars has been recovered. 

The service says Ernest Jensen's body was found Monday in the ocean off Metchosin, Vancouver Island near the minimum security William Head Institution, a day after he went missing. 

It says in a statement that Jensen was 69 and had been serving a life sentence for second-degree murder since 1991. 

West Short RCMP say Jensen's body was recovered near the shoreline along the lands of William Head, an 35-hectare facility southwest of Victoria. 

Police say they're working with the correctional service and the BC Coroners Service as they investigate Jensen's death. 

Jensen was convicted for his part in the 1989 death of Leonard Skwarok in Alberta, who was confined, beaten, sexually assaulted and killed by a group who believed he'd molested a child. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2026

Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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