RCMP are investigating after a Red Deer woman’s body was found on Tuesday afternoon in a small wooded area between the north and south lanes of Hwy 2 near Gasoline Alley.
It is the second time in eight days that a body has been found in or near the city.
Police said it appears the 41-year-old woman had been camping in a stand of trees just north of the Delburne Road overpass with a number of others. She had been alive in the morning and was left alone at the camp. But when her companions returned about 2 p.m., they found her body. They promptly called police, said Red Deer Rural Staff Sgt. Gord Glasgow.
Police continue to investigate and it has not been determined if the death is considered suspicious.
Glasgow could not confirm that the campers were homeless, but he noted the weather made camping a chilly option.
The temperature in Red Deer about 9 a.m. was -6C and rose to a high of only -2C by 4 p.m. The wind chill made it feel like -8C, said Environment Canada.
About half a dozen police cars could be seen with emergency lights flashing parked in the grassed area between the lanes of the busy highway, which is not easily accessible by vehicle.
On Oct. 5, a woman’s body was found by a passerby in a wooded area near the downtown Safeway. It was later determined that foul play was not suspected in the death of the 26-year-old woman whose body was found about 5:40 p.m.
The woman was not from Red Deer, but police would not release her home town.