Idyllic town where Virgin River star was murdered is aghast over new blood-spattered clues: 'Tortured' friends reveal terrifying theory after uncovering disturbing evidence at actor's home

Surrounded by majestic mountains and pristine blue ocean, the seaside village of Lions Bay is a serene haven with dramatic vistas, wildlife galore and unspoiled natural beauty.

A little like Cabot Cove, the fictional Maine village that served as the picturesque backdrop for countless murders for Angela Lansbury to solve, its tranquility gives off a feeling it should never be pierced.

But the idyllic bliss the enclave's residents treasure has been shattered after Virgin River star Stewart McLean was found dead in what police are probing as a suspected homicide.

The grim discovery on Friday last week came after the 45-year-old actor vanished from his rented home on Brunswick Beach on May 15.

McLean's disappearance sparked a huge search operation across land and sea with volunteers from Lions Bay Search and Rescue and the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue deploying drones, boats and ground searches in their hunt for the missing star.

'It was like a CSI crime scene,' local Russ Meikeljohn, 71, told the Daily Mail.

'It was full on here for four or five days with minimum half a dozen vehicles, the forensic van, guys in forensic suits, guys in hard hats going up and down, dogs… and a police-related boat along the shoreline.'

A local unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police later uncovered concerning 'evidence' that suggested McLean may have been murdered – leading to homicide detectives being drafted in to lead the probe.

The actor's body was discovered on a hill above railway tracks across the street from his beachfront home, Jeff Seymour, McLean's close friend and acting coach told the Daily Mail.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team believes the suspected homicide to be an isolated incident and are yet to make any arrests.

But that has failed to quell the fears in the village of just 1,400 residents.

'This isn't really a lock your door community, and now it's kind of feeling like it is,' neighbor Nicki Lund told the Daily Mail.

'We're just anxious to hear what happened. The police aren't forthcoming with information, so we know as much as you do, and for us, not knowing how he was killed or by who, like, was it a random attack? 

'They say it's an isolated incident. What does that mean?' 

Pointing out there is a homeless encampment down the train tracks, she added: 'We don't know if it was some random transient person or if it was someone he knew, but it would be nice to know this.'

Investigators say they are chasing all available leads and are appealing to the public for information as they gather evidence, scour CCTV footage and conduct interviews to establish McLean's movements prior to his disappearance, Corporal Esther Tupper told the Daily Mail.

The chilling scene inside McLean's abandoned car included blood-spattered clothing and a damaged cellphone, which led to cops seizing the vehicle as they ramped up their investigation.

McLean's friends struggle to believe he was targeted by anyone he knew and instead fear the kind-hearted star may have been attacked by a random stranger or maybe a hitchhiker he gave a lift to.

Meiklejohn said he knew his gray Toyota Matrix often came and went from the driveway as he worked away on film shoots or for a mining company up north.

McLean was last seen on May 15, 190 miles northeast in Merritt, where he was working a film shoot. He left Merritt at 7pm to make the four-hour drive back to Lions Bay.

Meiklejohn said they knew he was due back that night, so it was unusual no one had seen or heard from him about any change in plans.

Days later, he and his wife Dorothy, 70, were shocked to see cops at the $2.9 million, three-bedroom house McLean rented with his roommates, Kevin Lee and a man called Bryn.

'When we saw the police there, that's when we knew something was up,' Meiklejohn said.

'We went over and asked: "What's going on," and Kevin said, "Well, I'm kind of freaking out because I expected Stew to be here, and he's not. But his car is."' 

Lee filed a missing person's report, having not seen or heard from his friend of 20 years for three days.

His decision to raise the alarm came after he encountered an unsettling scene on his return home from work on the evening of May 15.

He told neighbors he found McLean's keys on the table, the door unlocked and several of his bags just inside the front door.

'It's like he was in the process of arriving home, and then he vanished,' Meiklejohn said.

But when McLean still hadn't returned by early Monday morning, Lee went on 'high alert' and decided to check his unlocked car on the driveway.

'He's very on point with his phone, so I decided to search his car.'

Lee found his friend's cellphone, with a cracked camera, stashed in the trunk of the car.

'I discovered his phone, and that's when I called. I was like, "Okay, that's too much now."'

Acting coach Seymour, a close friend of McLean's based in LA, gave a similar account of the state of the actor's car after his disappearance.

He told the Daily Mail investigators found McLean's phone out of battery in the trunk and intriguingly found a charging cord pulled over to the passenger side as if a passenger had been charging their phone.

He said he had been told there was some blood on the actor's clothing, but 'it wasn't like a crime scene' level of blood.

'That's what made the whole thing a mystery. It was just so bizarre,' Seymour added.

Lee and McLean's other friends are tortured by the various scenarios that could have led to his death, including that he could have picked up a hitchhiker, or that he could have been targeted in a carjacking gone wrong.

Lee, who has several jobs including running a masonry business, said he was interviewed by police as a witness and helped them put together a timeline of his movements and mental state before his disappearance.

He said was not aware anything was amiss with McLean, and that he had just been visited by an out-of-town friend and won a promotion at the mining camp he worked at.

'When I spoke to him, everything seemed aligned. He was in great spirits…He was very happy and looking forward, thinking about his future.'

After helping police, he began his own search for his friend, scouring his favorite hiking trails and the train tracks near their home in the hope of finding him safe and well.

But it was not to be, with searchers finding the star's body about a week after his disappearance.

Lee has been left so traumatized by his friend's death that he cannot bear to remain living in the place where it all happened and so was packing up to leave when the Daily Mail visited.

'I feel empty, I feel dread, I feel paranoia. I know a lot of my friends have come by, tried to be reclaim the space, and get it up and running again, but it just hits so close to home for me, because I actually live here.'

He said despite the quiet setting of ocean waves and wildlife, he didn't want to be looking over his shoulder until his friend's suspected killer was caught.

Paying tribute to McLean, he described him as a kind-hearted, beautiful man' who was 'thoughtful,' 'generous to everyone' and with a great zest for life.

Now, the lack of updates from police is unnerving Lions Bay as homicide detectives leading the case remain tight-lipped about the case.

One neighbor, who did not want to be named, said: 'It's an extremely weird situation, and I think people here are flabbergasted.

'Everyone along the road always had extremely lovely interactions with Stew.

'I would love more information, but I am also cognizant of the fact that I'm sure there's reasons police haven't given us updates. I would just love to see this whole situation resolved.'  

The house McLean rented had a constant 'revolving door' of male tenants, but he and Lee were usually there while Bryn, was working on Vancouver Island, neighbors said.

 Another housemate called Johnny, who hadn't lived in the house in a couple of years, returned in recent days, Dorothy Meikeljohn said.

Approached at the home, Johnny, who only gave his first name, did not want to be drawn on the police investigation or what Lee had shared with him about McLean's disappearance.

'It's hard knowing he didn't just, you know, slip and fall, or it was some otherwise accident,' he said.

'I know that there's so many questions, I have those too.'

Johnny said he and McLean met in 2008 while they were working on mineral exploration in the Arctic and described the late actor as 'an avid traveler' and 'incredibly calm.'

He said he last spoke to McLean in February about an acting gig he was 'thrilled' about and would later go on to film with Seymour in LA.

Meanwhile, McLean's friends have told the Daily Mail they remain mystified as to why anyone would want to hurt the 'kind and generous' actor, who they say had no quarrels with anyone.

Ryan Minaker, 35, a director-writer who knew McLean since he auditioned for his Cloud Nine Tales series in 2019, described him as a 'free spirit' and a 'friendly, open, intelligent and interesting guy'.

'You could be having a bad day, but if you walk in the room and Stew is there, it's a good day.'

He said they last spoke two weeks ago, but his friend gave him no cause to think anything was off in his life.

'I had no prior knowledge that anything could have happened to him. He didn't give off anything that made me think that something was going on, but I guess we were talking about future plans, we weren't talking about present issues.

'It's just makes no sense, because he didn't pass, he was taken from us.' 

Locals are questioning how the suspected murderer could have killed unnoticed in the tight-knit village.

Lynne Jacobs, owner of the Lion's Bay General Store and Café, the only store in the tiny municipality, said: 'We all leave our cars and our doors unlocked. Our houses are all left open.

'It's hard to get into Lions Bay and get out in one piece. It's not as though it's the place where you can just do some damage and disappear.

'People know each other on the streets, neighbors look out.'

Jacobs said the 'artsy' community of Lions Bay is a magnet for film crews seeking to use its idyllic backdrop in their productions.

Last year, her store was used as part of the set of Remarkably Bright Creatures, a Netflix movie starring Sally Field, Lewis Pullman and Colm Meany.

Meiklejohn said the community has been left 'numb' by McLean's death and they want to remember him as 'a kind, generous person and not just a victim of a crime.'

But he said fears he has been murdered would inevitably change their lives in Lions Bay going forward.

'I think it's changed the complexion of the place, like, well, I guess we better always lock the door.

'If we're just going down the beach for a walk, we don't really worry about it, but we will now.'