Coroner reopens investigation into Okanagan woman’s death

B.C.’s chief coroner has re-opened an investigation into the death of 56-year-old Arlene Westervelt who drowned in Okanagan Lake in 2016 while canoeing with her husband in Lake Country.

The coroner says in a statement that the Coroners Act permits an investigation to be reopened if new evidence arises or if the coroner considers it would be in the public interest.

The coroner says it’s in the public interest for another coroner to conduct a new investigation to include any new information that might help in understanding the circumstances around Westervelt’s death.

Police have said her husband Bert Westervelt told them that he and his wife were paddling back to their vehicle when the canoe tipped, and she disappeared.

(The Canadian Press, Global)