Call to reopen investigation into B.C. woman’s death after cause ruled undetermined

VANCOUVER - The mother of Tatyanna Harrison and advocacy groups including the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs are calling for the reopening of an investigation into her disappearance and death four years ago.

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or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! To continue reading, please subscribe: Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional $1 for the first 4 weeks* VANCOUVER – The mother of Tatyanna Harrison and advocacy groups including the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs are calling for the reopening of an investigation into her disappearance and death four years ago.

The calls come after a coroner’s inquest last week ruled that the 20-year-old Indigenous woman’s cause of death on May 1, 2022, was undetermined, a finding the groups say conflicted with previous findings of the coroner’s service. Tatyanna Harrison’s body was found on a drydocked yacht in Richmond, B.C., and the groups say that while she was naked from the waist down, RCMP did not deem the death suspicious. Sue Brown, who is legal counsel for Harrison’s mother Natasha Harrison, says the case needs to be reviewed in light of the findings, and that the coroner’s service got it wrong by initially attributing the death to drug toxicity, then to sepsis.

Brown says the unanswered questions include how Harrison got to Richmond, with whom, and most importantly, how she died. The coroner’s jury issued eight recommendations to police and officials, including that the government review policing standards to ensure adequate training in cases of missing persons, and to include Indigenous liaison officers in missing persons units. Brown’s group, Justice for Girl’s, as well as the union and the BC Civil Liberties Association are supporting Natasha Harrison’s call for the investigation to be renewed and took part in a news conference with her in Vancouver on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2026.