A retired West Vancouver police constable has been found reportedly murdered in Mexico.
Lynn Earle, 60, was apparently found stabbed to death in her home in Playa del Carmen, a popular town on Mexico's Mayan Riviera. She is believed to have been killed during a robbery.
Emma Welford, a spokeswoman with Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, said Canadian consular officials are in contact with local Mexican officials to gather information.
Earle first worked as a civilian employee for the West Vancouver Police Department in the late 1980s before becoming a bylaw officer and eventually a patrol constable in 1993. She left the force in 1996.
Earle had reportedly been living in the Mayan Riviera area of Mexico for several years and had been active in animal welfare organizations there.
Chris Cvetkovic, the long snapper for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, runs a foundation for animal shelters in Winnipeg and visited one of the Mexican animal rescue groups in January where Earle volunteered.
"She ended up taking me under her wing," he said. "I spent a week working with her."
Cvetkovic described Earle as one of the most selfless people he had met.
"She was a joker and she was very genuine," he said. "She had an enormous heart.
"I think she had found what she wanted to do in retirement."
Cvetkovic said he and other Blue Bombers players who had worked with Earle in Mexico were shocked and saddened by the news of her death.
Other friends posted tributes to Earle on social media, describing her death as a tragic loss.
"She worked tirelessly to help the animals of Playa in whatever way she could," posted one person from Coco's Cat Rescue, where Earle volunteered.
"We will miss her bubbly, happy outgoing personality. . . . Lynn will be missed by all and leaves a big hole in the hearts of many."
The news of Earle's death comes just a few days after the North Vancouver RCMP issued an appeal for information on a another Canadian, 53-year-old Trevor Roseborough, who has been missing in Mexico for the past 16 months.
Gwynne Roseborough, one of Trevor's four siblings, who lives on the North Shore, said Trevor had been living on his sailboat in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle near Puerto Vallarta for a couple of years, but always kept in regular contact.
"He is very independent," said Roseborough. "He's always had an alternative lifestyle and lived on very little."
Communication with the family came to an abrupt end in January 2012, when Roseborough's sister received an autoreply from Trevor's email that read, "Sorry friends, I have gone travelling and will not get or reply to your messages for a month or two."
Roseborough said she also received a postcard from Trevor, postmarked in February. Since then, however, there has been no word on her brother's whereabouts.
Roseborough has made three trips to Mexico since to try to find information. "I found absolutely nothing," she said.
North Vancouver RCMP investigators have determined there has been no banking or Internet activity on Trevor Roseborough's accounts.
His sister said she's hoping for any leads that could bring answers for the family.
"If something tragic happened, why hasn't his body surfaced?" she said. "It's totally bizarre."
