West Shore RCMP are investigating the suspicious death of a Sooke woman at Goldstream park campgrounds Saturday morning.
The woman is identified as 34-year-old Amanda Lee Langford. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday in Vancouver.
Police say Langford was with a group of people occupying two campsites at the Goldstream campgrounds, located on the west side of the Trans-Canada Highway.
She was reported missing 10 a.m. on July 2 and other campers found her body in the river at 1:10 p.m., not far from her campsite.
“The cause of death is unknown and we are investigating it seriously,” RCMP Staff Sgt. Danny Willis said on Sunday. “We don’t know if foul play was involved.”
Investigators are interviewing friends she was camping with and other people at nearby campsites, trying to piece together Langford’s final days and hours.
It’s unclear how many people were in Langford’s group. Her Facebook page shows three photos uploaded July 1 at 11:43 p.m., all featuring two young men identified as being “French” and who are sitting in front of a tent.
Her campsite remained ringed with crime scene tape Monday morning. The site has a dome tent with clothing strewn about inside, three camping chairs and personal effects, including three pairs of glasses on the picnic table.
Police were still on scene Monday evening and had taped off the women's washroom. A septic technician helping investigators found a potential peice of evidence in the men's toilet, which was photographed and bagged.
Langford’s body was found about 100 metres east from the campsite, down a nearby trail that leads to the shallow, rocky river.
The trail also forks right, leading to high cliffs overlooking a pool and a rope swing near where Langford's body was found. The Times Colonist reported two men found her clothed only in a T-shirt, with nothing waste-down.
RCMP Cpl. Kathy Rochlitz said the death is being thoroughly investigated, but as of Monday no one was in custody and no one has been deemed a person of interest in her death.
“Anytime we have a death with no specific cause it is suspicious until proven otherwise,” Rochlitz noted.
West Shore RCMP are working with B.C. Coroners Service, RCMP Vancouver Island major crime unit, Victoria police dog section, and Victoria RCMP forensic identification section. An RCMP dive team retrieved her body from the river.
West Shore RCMP are asking anyone who was at the Goldstream campground on July 1 or 2 and who saw anything unusual to call 250-474-2264 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
“Sometimes, the public does not realize that what they heard or saw is helpful and relevant to our investigation,” Rochlitz said.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
--with files from Charla Huber