Hay River woman identified as person found dead in B.C.

The body of a Northwest Territories woman found in British Columbia earlier this week has been identified by family as 27-year-old Brittany Martel.

A motorist who stopped to stretch his legs during a traffic jam discovered her body on Sunday near Merritt, B.C. Police had said the body was that of an Indigenous woman from the N.W.T.

The woman's grandfather, Pat Martel, confirmed to CBC News that it was his granddaughter. He said he would not talk about her death until he knows more about what happened. The family is from Hay River, N.W.T.

The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) has reported that Martel was in contact with the network earlier this month about documenting her hitchhiking travels.

Martel was reported missing in late June. At the time, RCMP in B.C. told media outlets that Martel was living in West Kelowna and had last been in contact with family on June 14. Police believed she was planning to hitchhike to the Northwest Territories and may be travelling with a man.

However, RCMP confirmed that Martel had been found safe on July 3.

The B.C. coroners service and RCMP continue to investigate her death. RCMP previously said that an examination of the scene didn't show any overt signs of criminality.

An autopsy is expected.