Forensic testing of pollen has revealed that an unidentified woman whose body was found floating off Vancouver’s Spanish Banks in 2022, may have spent her final days in the Seattle or Portland area.
The development of new evidence was shared by Vancouver police Monday along with a renewed appeal for information to help uncover her identity.
“This matters because a woman died alone far from home. And we know that there is somebody out there that is missing their auntie or their sister or their friend,” said Sgt. Adam Donaldson at a media conference held near Spanish Banks. “We just need that one tip that will help us identify her.”
Investigators describe the woman as being of African descent, aged 30 to 40 years old, with short black hair pulled into a bun and distinctive freckles on her face.
They say searches across North America and through Interpol have not found a missing person matching her description.
Last July, VPD sent the woman’s backpack and sweater for testing at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection lab in Chicago.
Findings suggest that pollen grains and fern spores found on the woman’s sweater indicated “recent exposure to an urban environment within the Pacific Northwest, plausibly Seattle or Portland,” according to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD).
A near total absence of pollen grains or fern spores from the Vancouver area was also observed, suggesting the woman was not from Vancouver.
Her body was found by a tugboat crew around 9 p.m. PT on Sept. 29, 2022. She was wearing a backpack but did not have a wallet or identification.
A blue inflatable kayak and an orange life vest were found floating nearby, along with insulin and candy, leading investigators to theorize she may have suffered diabetic distress before capsizing and falling into the water.
VPD has released a video about the case.
Investigators will be travelling to Seattle to amplify the new information and appeal for public assistance, along with the help of the Seattle Police Department and Portland Police Bureau.
Rolf Mathewes, a professor of paleoecology and palynology at Simon Fraser University, told CBC News that pollen analysis can provide the clues needed to solve a mystery.
Although not personally involved in the VPD case, Mathewes did help RCMP solve a double murder near Kamloops in 2009 using both pollen and plant analysis to narrow down a location connected to the killings.
“There are ways that certain plants in certain areas — gardens, plantings — are different from the normal vegetation and if you find them you can use them to link to a particular spot,” he said.
