Unidentified woman was found near the shore in West Point Grey in September 2022 near an inflatable kayak
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Vancouver police have used a groundbreaking technique developed in the U.S. to trace the last days of a woman whose body was found off Spanish Banks Beach nearly four years ago.
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A tugboat crew found the still unidentified woman floating in the waters off Spanish Banks in the West Point Grey neighbourhood on the evening of Sept. 29, 2022. She was found near an inflatable kayak and had candy, insulin and a backpack with her but no identification.
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The crew brought her body to the Kitsilano Coast Guard station and Vancouver police opened a missing persons investigation.
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“Despite extensive efforts, including searches across North America and through Interpol, no missing person report has matched the woman’s description,” VPD Const. Darren Wong said Monday.
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“A significant development emerged after VPD Sgt. Anton Schamberger learned that a U.S. Customs and Border Protection laboratory in Chicago could analyze pollen spores on clothing to determine where a person may have recently spent time,” said Wong.
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Schamberger sent the woman’s backpack and sweater to the lab for testing and Vancouver police received a report on the results last year.
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“The findings indicated that the pollen grains and fern spores on the woman’s sweater suggested that it had recent exposure to an urban environment within the Pacific Northwest, plausibly Seattle or Portland.”
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Sunrise
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The tests also showed a near total absence of pollen grains or fern spores from the Vancouver area where she was found. That suggests she was not from Vancouver and instead spent her last days in the Seattle or Portland areas.
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With the new evidence in hand, the VPD is renewing an appeal for help identifying the woman. She is believed to have been in her 30s and of African descent.
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It’s possible she was never reported missing, but Wong said investigators “remain confident that someone, somewhere is looking for her.”
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Police have released an updated video with the pollen findings, an interview with the tugboat captain and a renewed call for information. It was released at a news conference at nearby Locarno Beach on Monday.
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VPD officers plan to travel to Seattle to further the investigation, and plan to hold a news conference on Tuesday with officers from the Seattle Police Department and Portland Police Bureau.
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“The goal of this initiative is to trigger memories, generate new leads, and ultimately identify the woman so her family can be notified,” said Wong.
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Investigators hope the video and cross-border appeal will lead to someone recognizing her, even if she was not from the region or even North America.
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“This case has already drawn considerable attention due to its complexity and the mystery surrounding the woman’s identity,” said Wong.
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Police are inviting anyone to watch the video and share it on their social media feeds. Anyone with information about the missing person case can email thekayaker@vdp.ca or call 604-717-0619.
