CALGARY -- The search for a southeast B.C. man who went out for a walk with his dog and didn't return this week, ended with the discovery of his body near a lake.

Martin Baker was last seen when he left his home in Wilmer, B.C., near Invermere, on Wednesday for a walk with his pitbull cross, Rusty.

Search crews began scouring the area Wednesday evening when he didn't return.

The search was resumed Thursday and officers in an RCMP Air Services fixed wing aircraft, spotted what searchers later determined to be a deceased person near Wilmer Lake.

Despite being off leash, searchers said Rusty had stayed with Baker and was found by the man's side.

The BC Coroners Service is now looking into Baker's death. No criminality is suspected.