THE woman found dead near a Grouse Mountain ski run Tuesday afternoon appears to have been a victim of hypothermia, say police.
The 52-year-old was discovered in the bushes at about 3 p.m. just 100 metres from the mountain's Paradise ski run. The unidentified woman was dressed in hiking gear and had a day pack, leading investigators to believe she had become disoriented while walking one of the area's trails before succumbing to exposure. Her body showed no evidence of foul play, they said.
"This woman didn't have a cellphone with her, so we're not sure whether she even attempted to get help," said Cpl. Richard De Jong, a spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP. "(She) was close to a lot of resources."
It's not clear how long the victim had been there, said De Jong. She had family in North Vancouver, but she lived alone in the downtown Vancouver area and had apparently not told anyone of her plans before setting out, he said. No cars have been found abandoned in the resort parking lot, suggesting the woman had taken transit to her destination.
The B.C. Coroners Service is examining the body to determine cause of death, but establishing a timeline will be difficult, said De Jong, as low temperatures have slowed decomposition, obscuring some of the clues investigators look for in an autopsy.
"Even though it may not be winter conditions here in the city, when you enter into the forest areas where there is snow, temperatures drop quite quickly and remain cold at night," said De Jong.
"The better prepared we are, the better chance we have of surviving these things."
