Death of woman found in Maple Ridge park now suspicious, say RCMP

The death of a woman whose body was found near a gravel walking trail in Maple Ridge, B.C., last month is now being treated as suspicious, according to RCMP.

May Cunningham, 52, was found dead not far from atrail in Kanaka Creek Park on March 21. RCMP said she lived in Maple Ridge.

On Wednesday, a statement from Mountiessaid the circumstances of her death are "suspicious in nature" and investigators are looking to speak with anyone who was in the area around the time she was found.

Specifically, officers are asking anyone who was in the Kanaka Creek riverfront area along the trails or in the parking lot between 8 p.m. PT on March 21 and 8 a.m. on March 22 to phone police.

"We believe it's a well-frequented park and that there may have been someone in the area at the time," said RCMP Sgt. Brenda Gresiuk during a phone call on Wednesday.

"Sometimes, when you're out and about and you think, 'that's a little off,' and you don't think much of it, but when you have some context ... even if they don't think it's important to call us, they might have the little piece of the puzzle we're missing."

The officer declined to give any further details on the circumstances of Cunningham's death.

"The information we have isn't disposable to the public at this time because it is an active investigation," Gresiuk said.

Kanaka Creek flows through Maple Ridge and into the Fraser River. The park where Cunningham was found has a small network of trails through the wooded area, leading from a parking lotto the banks of the Fraser.