A Whitehorse woman missing since April was found dead in Schwatka Lake on Friday.
Whitehorse RCMP recovered the body of Ayla Sanders the afternoon of June 5 after responding to a report of a person floating in the water south of Whitehorse.
“Criminality” isn’t believed to have been a factor in her death, according to press releases from the Yukon RCMP and Yukon Coroner’s Service on June 6.
Sanders, who went by “Ellah,” was last seen leaving her downtown Whitehorse apartment on April 17.
Police issued a missing person notice three days later.
Her disappearance triggered extensive search efforts, with her father, Chris Moir, also putting up hundreds of missing person posters across Whitehorse in an effort to generate any tips about his daughter’s whereabouts.
“I would want her to know that there are so many people, family and friends that are worried sick about her being missing and that she is very loved for,” he had told the News on April 30. “People care about her, people love her, especially me.”
An autopsy is scheduled to take place in Abbotsford, B.C., to determine Sanders’ cause of death.
Contact Jackie Hong at jackie.hong@yukon-news.com