Police ask for help identifying woman who drowned off Vancouver's Spanish Banks beach

Police are asking for the public's help to identify a woman found dead in the ocean off Spanish Banks beach in Vancouver this fall.

Investigators said a tugboat crew found the woman's body floating in the water around 9 p.m. PT on Sept. 29. A statement said she appeared to have been a Black woman in her 30s, with short black hair pulled into a bun and "distinctive freckles on her face."

The woman was wearing a backpack, but didn't have a wallet or any identification.

The statement said a blue inflatable kayak and orange life vest were found floating in the same area as the woman's body.

A vial of insulin was also discovered nearby, leading investigators to believe she might have been diabetic and suffered a medical emergency before falling into the ocean. 

"We've been working for weeks to identify her, but we still don't know who she is or exactly what happened to her," wrote Sgt. Steve Addison.

"Because we don't know who she is, we believe she may have been a newcomer to Canada or a traveller who hasn't yet been reported missing."

Police released a sketch of the woman to show what she looked like when she died.

Anyone who recognizes her is asked to call the police department's missing person unit.