Missing Millville man found dead - RCMP
Brandon Pickel, 29, last seen around 1 a.m. Monday by Grafton Bridge near Woodstock
The Millville man who’d been reported missing and whom RCMP sought tips to locate has been found deceased, the Mounties reported Friday.
The RCMP’s Western Region Valley detachment issued a news release Tuesday morning, advising that Brandon Pickel, 29, of Millville, about 40 kilometres east of Woodstock, was missing.
He’d last been seen at about 1 a.m. Monday near the intersection of Route 105 and the Grafton bridge in Grafton, just a couple of kilometres east of Woodstock, the release said.
“He was reported missing to police the same day,” the Mounties reported Tuesday.
“Police have followed up on several leads to try and locate him, but have so far been unsuccessful. Police and his family are concerned for his well-being.”
Unfortunately, the detachment, in a followup late Friday morning, advised the case ended tragically.
“The 29-year-old man from Millville, N.B., who was reported missing to police on Nov. 25, 2024, has been located deceased,” the Friday release said.
“Police continue to investigate how the man died and an autopsy is scheduled to determine the exact cause.”
The Western Region Valley detachment said officers’ thoughts were with Pickel’s family and friends, and the community at large.
Morgan Palmer, Pickel’s sister, was active on Facebook about the search effort and was forthcoming about the unfortunate resolution.
“We would like to thank everyone for their help and search efforts. Search and rescue went out this morning, and we are heartbroken to inform everyone that he is no longer with us,” she wrote in a post Thursday afternoon.
Palmer wrote of the pain she and her family are experiencing, but she also noted they were relieved her brother’s body was found before Thursday’s wintery weather hit the region.
“I thank God every single second we found you, Brandon Pickel, before this came,” she wrote Friday.
“I can't even process that this happened to you, too many days searching in wonder and finally found you in the most shittiest way.”
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