Homicide investigators have issued a plea in Edmonton for help in solving the case of a teen who was found dead in Surrey, B.C. nearly two years ago.

According to RCMP investigators, those with knowledge of the altercation involving 19-year-old Tanner Krupa now live in Edmonton, where the teen originally hailed from.

Krupa was found dead in a back alleyway on August 20, 2017. Investigators believe a group of men were involved in an altercation that led to his death, some of whom may have been bystanders with first-hand information about the incident.

“There are people that have intimate knowledge about what happened to Tanner that have now moved to Edmonton,” RCMP Cpl. Frank Jang said Thursday during a press conference at Krupa’s memorial site.

“It’s very critical that we speak to them - and those individuals know who they are.”

Police believe Krupa’s death was not a random act, leaving his family with questions about his death.

“I think maybe somebody jumped him and he fought back because he was a pretty big guy and he was winning and they turned around and did what they did,” said Tanner’s mother Kim Krupa.

In a public plea for assistance in the case released a year after Tanner’s death, his mother said he did not have a criminal record and had recently moved to Surrey for work.

“Never in a million years would we have thought he would pass away under such horrible circumstances,” she said an impact statement. “There was a complete disregard to public safety as he was murdered during the early morning hours in a quiet residential neighbourhood.”