The death of a woman living in West Vancouver's Lighthouse Park is now being called a murder.
West Vancouver police confirm a Caucasian woman in her 40s was the homicide victim, but have not released her name or how she died. An autopsy is expected sometime Tuesday.
The woman's body was discovered early Tuesday in an area popular with hikers and rock climbers overlooking English Bay.
It has not been determined if the incident is targeted or random.
Cpl. Fred Harding says officers are hoping to speak with anyone who was in the park over the weekend who saw anyone or anything suspicious.
"We're asking anyone who saw anything, heard anything, knows anything to let us know because that's what's going to help us find out what happened," Harding said.
Harding said the homicide is the first ever in a West Vancouver park, and he was not aware there were people living in the park.
A similar incident has happened in Vancouver. In 2003, homeless camper Lance Pomery was killed in his tent in Jericho Park.
News of Tuesday's death is slowly reaching the Lower Mainland's homeless population. They say they're not surprised someone died.
"There are lots of bad people you have to avoid," Willy Adams, a man who has slept in Vancouver Parks for more than three years, said.
Adams says living outside can be dangerous, but it shouldn't have to be deadly.
"Nobody deserves to die in a park or on your streets," Adams said.
With reports from CTV British Columbia's Renu Bakshi and Jon Woodward
