Police hope pollen analysis with crack cold case

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]This is an artist renderings of an unknown woman who died hours after being pulled from the waters off of Vancouver Beach in 2022. An inflatable kayak nearby. There is no greater indignity and death than to not even have that death acknowledged. She needs a name.

[00:00:14]>> After scrutinizing the woman's insulin and other scanned belongings, they were out of leads until the VPD heard about a specialized lab in Chicago. From advanced chemical analysis to nuclear forensics and even the study of pollen, >> those scientists at US Customs and Border Patrol made a surprising discovery after analyzing a sweater in the kayaker's backpack.

[00:00:33]>> The sweater itself had been exposed uh to an environment in the Pacific Northwest somewhere between Portland and Seattle.

[00:00:43]>> And no local pollen or fern spores suggesting she may not have been in Vancouver for long.

[00:00:48]>> We noticed what could potentially be a body in the water. The VPD produced this video which they'll share at an upcoming press conference in Seattle.

[00:00:55]>> Every time I go through there, it's still a sad feeling. I I [music] wonder what happened to the poor girl.

[00:00:59]>> It may sound far-fetched for pollen to solve a case, but forensic pelenology helped identify Baby Do in Boston several years ago.

[00:01:07]>> No justice on earth fixes that grief.

[00:01:10]>> And Bella Bond's killers are now in prison. The VPD don't believe the kayaker's death involved criminality, and the theory she was a human trafficking victim has largely fizzled out. The autopsy actually has cause of death as undetermined, but she did not drown. So, there was some evidence of aniflaxis. So, we're thinking maybe a medical event.

[00:01:29]>> Without any matching missing person's report, the mystery remains. Who was she?

[00:01:34]>> Maybe she didn't want to be found, but there's somebody out there that's missing her, and uh we owe it to that family to help identify her. With so many unusual elements to this case, what investigators are really hoping for is for the story to go viral because all it takes is the right person watching to help close this case. Penny Dafllo, CTV News, Vancouver.