Coroner says Brazilian woman died of hypothermia

Canadian officials turned away a Brazilian woman at border crossings three times in the days before she got lost in the woods and died of hypothermia near the U.S. border in 2024.

The 36-year-old woman likely died around Jan. 15, 2024, after entering Canada through a forested area near Coaticook, Que., and spending an extended period of time outdoors, according to the April 15 report that was signed by Quebec coroner Donald Nicole.

Environment Canada data showed temperatures in the area fluctuated between about -6 C and -14 C around mid-January, including a reading of -10.5 C on Jan. 15.

It would be a few months before someone found the woman’s body in a wooded area in April and alerted authorities, the report said.

Police would later confirm the woman was dead within hours of arriving on the scene.

The coroner cited a police investigation that reported the woman had previously entered the United States illegally in 2023. She then attempted to cross into Canada on Jan. 7, Jan. 10, and Jan. 11, 2024 at the Stanstead, Newport, and Buffalo border crossings, but the Canada Border Services Agency turned her back each time.

Frantz André, a retired Montreal businessman who created a support group for migrants, said the case underscores the danger faced by people who are seeking asylum in Canada but repeatedly get refused at the border.

‘’This is not normal,’’ he said, ‘’I don’t want to read more news like this.”

André said the story reminds him of the case of a 44-year-old who was found dead in a wooded area in St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que., near Roxham Road in January 2023. 

Quebec provincial police had concluded that the man likely died of hypothermia while trying to meet a member of his family living in the United States. At the time, Quebec provincial police didn’t say whether the man was a Canadian citizen, but said it appeared he was trying to cross the border through a wooded area.

Nicole’s report said Canada’s National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains in Ottawa identified the woman by comparing her DNA with information from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A pathologist who conducted an autopsy in Montreal in May 2024 found no signs of trauma or third-party involvement, and no injuries that could explain the death. In addition, tests found no drugs or medications in her system.

This led the coroner to conclude the death was accidental.

”I hope (the Brazilian woman’s family) is finally at peace knowing what happened to her,” said André.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.

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