The Vancouver Police Department says it’s confident that the deaths of two women who were found in the waters of English Bay this week were separate incidents, and have ruled out criminality in the case of one death.
The first woman was found dead off Sunset Beach on Sunday, and the second woman’s body was found in the water near the Kitsilano Yacht Club on Monday.
The Kitsilano death is not believed to be criminal in nature, the force said in a news release Tuesday. They’ve identified that woman and notified her family, but aren’t sharing her name or details about her death out of respect for the family’s wishes.
The case of the woman found dead near Sunset Beach, however, is still under investigation. Police have also learned the name of that woman but aren’t releasing it publicly at this time.
“These deaths have shocked and unsettled the community and they have led to many questions that we are now beginning to answer,” adds Sergeant Steve Addison. “These investigations are our highest priority and they will continue until we have every answer we need.”
Daily Hive asked both VPD and the City of Vancouver if the Sunset Beach death could have anything to do with the Celebration of Light fireworks competition on Saturday evening that drew thousands of people to the English Bay area. Neither replied to the question.
The evening after the second woman’s body was found, there was a triple stabbing on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver. The three back-to-back investigations prompted a statement from Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, saying the recent events were “deeply unsettling” and assuring Vancouverites that police were looking into them.