An Australian hiker has been found dead in Canadian bear country after a Mounties search that deployed police dogs and a drone.
Twenty-five-year-old Julia-Mary Lane, from Brisbane, had been living in Canmore, Alberta since January.
She travelled to British Columbia for a week-long road trip at Bear Lake near the town of Kimberley but did not return, according to a social media post from her housemate on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, searchers found the woman, deceased,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed in a statement on Wednesday. “The death is not considered suspicious.”
“It looks accidental, due to steep terrain,” RCMP corporal James Grandy told Guardian Australia.
“All evidence of the scene shows she accidentally maybe lost her footing.
“However it is in hands of the coroner service, [which is] still working to investigate.”
Lane’s family has posted to Facebook, confirming their loss.
“We have lost our beautiful baby girl, Julia-Mary RIP in an unfortunate hiking accident,” Lane’s family wrote. They asked for 24 hours “to process this sad news”.
Lane’s Canadian housemate Janet Hamilton contacted Lane’s family early on Tuesday morning when she did not return from her trip. The family had not heard from Lane since Saturday morning.
Kimberly RCMP were alerted on Tuesday June 11th.
Frontline officers located the woman’s vehicle parked near Bear Lake during the search and rescue effort. The RCMP’s police dog services and the use of a drone were engaged in the search.
Lane had posted to a Facebook group days earlier looking for recommendations for local hikes.
“I’m visiting from Canmore for a few days and would love to join any moderate to challenging hikes anyone has planned,” she wrote. “I am comfortable hiking solo but would prefer to go with a group to minimise bear risk of course.”
