Pollen forensic technique links missing woman cold case to the Pacific Northwest

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Police from Vancouver, British Columbia, traveled to Portland to announce a break in a cold case from four years ago, linking a missing person to the Portland-Seattle area.

“This is a woman who died alone, a long way from home. And we feel an obligation, and it’s important to be able to reunite her with her family,” said Sgt. Adam Donaldson with the Vancouver Police Missing Persons Unit in Canada.

On September 29, 2022, a tugboat crew found a woman’s body floating in the waters off Spanish Banks in British Columbia.

She was found near a blue inflatable kayak and had candy, insulin, and a backpack, but no identification.

While they were able to get a pulse back on her, she never regained consciousness and was officially declared dead the following morning.

“We know what somebody’s got to know about her. She’s somebody’s sister. She’s somebody’s daughter. She’s somebody’s friend. Somebody’s coworker. Somebody will know who she is,” said Detective Rebecca Matson with the Vancouver Police Missing Persons Unit.

After four years with no leads, Sgt. Anton Schamberger with the Vancouver Police Missing Persons Unit in Canada came across a forensic technique that hadn’t been used by their agency, and has increased movement in this four-year-old investigation.

“They were able to say, based on pollen grains and fern spores found on her sweater, that the sweater had had recent exposure to an urban or suburban environment in the Pacific Northwest, most positively between Portland and Seattle,” said Sgt. Schamberger. “They were also able to say, based on the complete lack of pollen grains and fern spores that were native to British Columbia, that she likely had not had any exposure or was likely not a resident.”

Now, the Vancouver Police Department, Portland Police Bureau, and the Seattle Police Department are reaching beyond the Canadian border.

KATU’s Avery Elowitt asked, “With this new information, how will future outreach efforts be different from these previous efforts now that we have more local ties?”

Sgt. Donaldson answered, “Well, if we have more local ties, we can focus the information, and since we’ve done some outreach in the past few days, we have had some actionable tips to our email address. So now we’re going to have to go back, start investigating those tips, and build up that investigation. It may not be information that leads directly to her identification, but it can narrow the scope of the investigation.”

By sharing her story on YouTube and spreading flyers with this illustrated rendering of the unidentified woman across the Pacific Northwest, they hope to get tips that lead to answers.

Police from Vancouver, British Columbia, traveled to Portland to announce a break in a cold case from four years ago, linking a missing woman to the Portland-Seattle area. By sharing her story on YouTube and spreading flyers with this illustrated rendering of the unidentified woman across the Pacific Northwest, they hope to get tips that lead to answers/Avery Elowitt, KATU News

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“What we need is one tip. All it takes is one. All it takes is someone saying, ‘hey, that’s my auntie,’ ‘that’s my mom.’ Or, ‘that was my neighbor,’” said Sgt. Donaldson.

The unidentified woman is believed to be approximately 30-40 years old, Black, and despite extensive investigation across North America, no missing persons report matches her descriptions, according to the Vancouver Police Department.

If you have any information on this case, email thekayaker@vpd.ca or call 604-717-0619.