Body of missing Quebec woman found, police say
The body of a Quebec woman missing for nearly a week was discovered in Saint-Jérôme on Tuesday afternoon, according to provincial police.
A citizen alerted authorities after spotting a vehicle that matched a description police had shared with the public.
Linda Vinette, 61, was found inside the car, stationed near a local park. Her death was confirmed at a nearby hospital.
No traces of violence were immediately apparent, according to the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), and her death is not considered suspicious.
A coroner will aid in the investigation.
Vinette, who is from Sainte-Sophie, was last seen alive in Terrebonne last Wednesday, where she had a dentist appointment.
After days of searching, the SQ set up two command posts on Tuesday -- one in Terrebonne and the other in Sainte-Sophie -- in search of answers.
The body of Linda Vinette, 61, was discovered inside a parked car in Saint-Jerome on Feb. 27, 2024. (Cosmo Santamaria / CTV News)
CTV News spoke to Vinette's goddaughter a few hours before she was found. Isabelle Theoret described Vinette as a woman who was in excellent health.
"She has no health issues, physical or psychological," she said.
Calling her disappearance "incomprehensible," Theoret added that search teams had swept all the routes running from the dentist's office to Vinette's home, to no avail.
Later on Tuesday, after Vinette's body was discovered, an SQ spokesperson confirmed police are investigating how she ended up where she did.
"We're going to try to find the reason why she went to Saint-Jérôme, where has she been, so we have a lot of work still to do," said Sgt. Éloïse Cossette in an interview. "[We'll] also look at cameras in that specific area to just confirm that she was alone in the car."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian family stuck in Lebanon anxiously awaits flight options amid Israeli strikes
A Canadian man who is trapped in Lebanon with his family says they are anxiously waiting for seats on a flight out of the country, as a barrage of Israeli airstrikes continues.
Yazidi woman captured by ISIS rescued in Gaza after more than a decade in captivity
A 21-year-old Yazidi woman has been rescued from Gaza where she had been held captive by Hamas for years after being trafficked by ISIS.
Scientists looked at images from space to see how fast Antarctica is turning green. Here's what they found
Parts of icy Antarctica are turning green with plant life at an alarming rate as the region is gripped by extreme heat events, according to new research, sparking concerns about the changing landscape on this vast continent.
DEVELOPING 2 dead after fire rips through historic building in Old Montreal
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building near Montreal's City Hall, sources told Noovo Info.
Suspect in shooting of Toronto cop was out on bail
A 21-year-old man who was charged with attempted murder in the shooting of a Toronto police officer this week was out on bail at the time of the alleged offence, court documents obtained by CTV News Toronto show.
A 6-year-old girl was kidnapped in Arkansas in 1995. Almost 30 years later, a suspect was identified
Nearly 30 years after a six-year-old girl disappeared in Western Arkansas, authorities have identified a suspect in her abduction through DNA evidence.
Dolphins 'smile' at each other when they play and to avoid misunderstanding, study finds
For humans, flashing a smile is an easy way to avoid misunderstanding. And, according to a new study, bottlenose dolphins may use a similar tactic while playing with each other.
Haitian gang kills at least 70 people, including 3 infants, UN says
Armed men belonging to the Gran Grif gang killed at least 70 people, including three infants, as they swept through a Haitian town shooting automatic rifles at residents, a spokesperson for the United Nations' Human Rights Office said on Friday.
Pit bulls in B.C. pet mauling tested positive for meth, cocaine, says city
Three pit bulls involved in a deadly attack on another dog last month in Kamloops, B.C., tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine, and the city is going to court to have them put down.