The RCMP is saying there is nothing suspicious about the death of a Hay River woman whose body was discovered just off a highway in British Columbia on July 22.
"The woman's death is not deemed suspicious and no criminality is suspected," stated a July 31 news release from the RCMP detachment in the town of Merritt.
The RCMP has not released the name of the woman because of the federal Privacy Act.
However, she was identified by a family member as 27-year-old Brittany Martel, who had resided in Kelowna and occasionally travelled between there and her hometown.
Staff Sergeant Lorne Wood of the Merritt RCMP told The Hub that the conclusion of a non-suspicious death was based on an autopsy and other information.
"I can't really get into the specifics of that, but just basically that there's no evidence of anything criminal in nature that resulted in the young woman's death," he said.
Wood noted the B.C. Coroners Service is still investigating, and the RCMP is assisting.
"There will be no official cause of death until that investigation has been completed with the B.C. Coroners Service," he said.
However, he did say there is no evidence the young woman may have been hit by a vehicle.
The RCMP initially said there were "no overt signs" of criminality, but would consider the death suspicious until proven otherwise.
Wood said the RCMP – based on sightings of the young woman in the days leading up to her death – now have a better idea of when she died.
"But that's still part of the coroner's investigation now," he said. "So I can't really comment on that."
In addition, Wood said it doesn't appear that she was hitchhiking at the time.
"We have determined how she came to be there, which again we've shared with the Coroners Service and they're following up on it, as well," he said, adding he could not reveal that information at this point.
The young woman's body was found off the side of Highway 5, about 20 minutes south of Merritt.
According to a July 24 news release from the RCMP, the chance discovery was made by a motorist who got out of his vehicle to stretch his legs after traffic was stopped because of an accident.