Ottawa police responded to reports of a woman’s body floating in the Rideau River near Vincent Massey Park on Aug. 26, police confirmed.
The case is currently being handled by the city’s major crime division, which is investigating the cause of death.
The police initially ruled suspicious due to possible bruising on the body but have since ruled out foul play. Any death that occurs outside of a hospital is considered suspicious, according to Ottawa police media relations officer Chuck Benoit.
Police are not giving any other details about the body such as age or possible cause of death until the coroner releases his report.
Police were called to the scene at 10:18 a.m. when a passerby noticed something in the water and ran out to find someone to call for help. That person then called the authorities and they arrived on the scene shortly afterwards. The Ottawa Police marine unit entered the river at approximately 12:15 p.m. to recover the body. It was pulled from the river and moved to an ambulance around 12:40 p.m., according to duty inspector John Medeiros.
Police have identified the body and informed next of kin. The name will not be publicly released at the family’s request.
The police tape cordoning off sections of the pathways by the river at Carleton was taken down and campus safety officer Mark Hargreaves confirmed that university safety is working with police on the incident.
An investigation is ongoing and a post-mortem will be conducted, Benoit said.
