Editor’s Note: This story contains references to suicide. If you or a loved one is at risk of self-harm, Canada’s mental health helpline can be reached at 988, with the BC Crisis Centre at 1-800-784-2433. Translation services are available.
One day after a woman’s body was found on Sunset Beach, Vancouver Police Department investigators say they still have more questions than answers.
Sgt. Steve Addison tells CityNews that the woman’s body was discovered by a passerby who noticed a person floating facedown in the shallow water around 10 a.m. Sunday.
The Missing Persons Unit, Major Crime Section, and BC Coroners Service reportedly began investigating the death shortly after.
“We’ve checked previous missing persons reports to determine whether or not anybody matching the description of the woman had been previously reported missing. We know she had some tattoos. So, we’ve looked at the tattoos in our database to determine whether or not she may have previously been reported missing. At this point, we don’t know who she is. And her cause of death has not been determined,” said Addison.
He says she appears to be a Black woman in her 20s or 30s, but those facts are unconfirmed. Distinctive markings, scars, and tattoos, Addison says, will help police find and notify the woman’s family to advance the investigation.
He adds police do not have reason to believe her death was the result of a crime, but the BC Coroners Service is still determining the cause.
Addison says it’s “all speculation at this point,” but police are looking into some common factors from similar situations.
“We don’t know how long she was in the water. We don’t know what her cause of death was. We’ve looked for previous reports of not just missing people but people who may have gone overboard from vessels. We do know, sadly, in the downtown core, people do jump off bridges in suicides. And it’s not uncommon for people who have jumped off bridges, particularly the Lions Gate Bridge, for their bodies to come ashore sometime later. So, we’re certainly [open to that] being a possibility,” he said.
On Saturday night, Vancouver’s downtown core was filled with tens of thousands more people than usual for the Honda Celebration of Light, but Addison says “there’s nothing to suggest that this person had been at the fireworks or there’s any link to the fireworks.”