deadmonton 2006 - other police matters - elaine rowan

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Edmonton Sun photograph

At about 3:00 a.m. on May 27th, 2006 a homeless bottle-picker came across a dead body on the hillside near the top of the the North Saskatchewan River bank just east of the Shaw Conference Centre.


The man went to a nearby home whose residents called for an ambulance.


Paramedics arrived minutes later and notified Edmonton police of the find south of Jasper Avenue at 96th Street and above Grierson Road.


Police tentatively identified the woman but were unsure of the cause of death. Acting Sgt. Steve Zielie said her body had likely been there only for a couple of hours.


There was no apparent cause of death at the scene.


Police treated the death as suspicious and homicide detectives became involved.


An autopsy on May 29th, 2006 determined the woman's death was a non-criminal matter.


Police identified her as Elaine Rowan, 41, of Hobbema.


Police also said they were waiting for toxicology results to determine an exact cause of death.


The Edmonton Sun reported Rowan, who had four children, lived in Hobbema for the past 15 years and had recently spent a couple of days in a women's shelter in Edmonton.


Early reports suggested that Rowan was a homeless person.


Insp. Dennis Pysyk said at the time that although the woman was found in an area frequented by homeless people it was premature to conclude she too was homeless.


Edmonton's river valley is known to be dotted with numerous makeshift campsites. City park rangers estimate there are several hundred temporary shelters along the river's broad and treed banks during the summer months.


An Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness spokesman said homelessness or substandard housing played a role in at least 32 deaths in Edmonton in 2005.