A visible police presence outside Vancouver’s VanDuesen Botanical Garden on Saturday was linked to the disappearance and death of Chelsea Poorman, investigators confirmed.
Vancouver police said officers were conducting a search for evidence in the park, and would share the findings with Poorman’s family.
Lorelei Williams, a member of the dance group Butterflies in Spirit which has continuously supported Poorman’s family, said police told her they were searching coyote dens within the park.
According to Poorman’s mother, Sheila, the coroner said part of her daughter’s cranium and some finger bones were not recovered when she was found.
“This is really important because the family wants to find the other pieces of her. This is just one small part of the investigation,” Williams said.
“The other parts — they’re searching for any other tips in the case, if there’s a murderer, if there was people with her that night.”
Poorman, a 24-year-old member of the Kwacatoose First Nation in Saskatchewan, was last seen on Sept. 6, 2020, in downtown Vancouver.
Her skeletal remains were found in April behind a vacant home near Granville Street and West 37th Avenue, not far from VanDuesen Botanical Garden.
Vancouver police have said there was no evidence of foul play.
Family and supporters say numerous questions — including how Poorman died and why it took so long to find her — remain unanswered.