SEATTLE – Canadian officials are turning to the Pacific Northwest public for help identifying a kayaker who died along the shores of a Vancouver, B.C. beach in 2022.

Microscopic pollen spores discovered on the Jane Doe’s personal belongings unlocked a major breakthrough in the four-year-old cold case, leading investigators to believe she likely spent her last days in the Seattle or Portland area.

The backstory:

On Sept. 29, 2022, at approximately 9 p.m., a tugboat crew navigating the waters off Spanish Banks in English Bay, Vancouver, spotted something floating in the dark. 

The crew discovered it was a woman and pulled her from the water, but she died hours after rescue. An inflatable kayak was also found drifting nearby, but there was no identification on the woman, only a backpack, candy, sweater, and insulin.

Photos of the unidentified kayaker found in English Bay in 2022.

Investigators believe the woman was in her 30s and of African descent. No missing person was found to match her description through DNA and fingerprint testing.

An autopsy found the woman did not die of drowning, but showed signs of severe anaphylaxis, meaning she could have had a fatal medical emergency while out on the water. Foul play is not suspected.

Dig deeper:

After efforts to identify the Jane Doe yielded no results, Vancouver, B.C. police sent the woman’s backpack and sweater across the border for testing of environmental particles. 

According to the report, fabric on the woman’s sweater contained pollen grains and fern spores unique to the Interstate 5 corridor of the Pacific Northwest, specifically in the Seattle and Portland areas.

What you can do:

Authorities hope the results of the chemical analysis, along with the woman’s photo, will help someone recognize the unidentified kayaker.

If you have any information, please contact investigators at 604-717-0619 or email thekayaker@vpd.ca.

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