Approaching the 10-year anniversary of her daughter’s death, a burning question remains for Carmen Perron: what happened to Ashley Chauvin in the hours and days before she was found lifeless on a South Surrey riverbank?
“I’m still aching to find answers,” Perron told Peace Arch News.
“Somebody’s gotta have some answer, or know something or saw something.”
Chauvin’s body was discovered on a walking path adjacent to the Nicomekl River on July 19, 2012, by a man who was in the area scoping out fishing spots. It was the same day that a friend reported the 20-year-old missing, after losing contact with her online.
READ MORE: Woman’s body found in South Surrey
Officers with Surrey RCMP’s major-crimes unit were called to the scene, in the 15500-block of 40 Avenue, at approximately 4:30 p.m., and police said they didn’t think Chauvin had been there long at that point.
Police also said there was no evidence of foul play – an autopsy found “a mix” of drugs in Chauvin’s system – but described some of the circumstances as “unusual,” and asked anyone with information to come forward.
Perron made her first public appeal a week later, noting that her daughter, who was herself a mother, had only moved to B.C. a few days prior to her death.
When she reissued the appeal in February 2014, police told Peace Arch News that investigators knew “someone did something terribly wrong.” They confirmed that a person of interest had been identified “within the first weeks” following the discovery of Chauvin’s body, and that a Surrey man had been arrested in October 2013.
But while a charge of ‘indignity to dead body’ had been recommended in connection with how Chauvin got to the riverside, Crown determined that the evidence did not justify charges.
Perron next asked for information in the spring of 2019.
This month, with her daughter’s 30th birthday on the horizon (May 18), Perron said she couldn’t let the impending 10-year anniversary of her death just quietly pass.
“I would regret just not mentioning it again, and then finding out years later” that somebody knew something.
And while she feels guilty for not being able to help her daughter “when she needed me the most” – Chauvin is among more than 200 remembered at a Crosses for Change site in Sudbury, Ont., where white crosses represent individuals who have died of drug overdose – Perron said she knows Chauvin wouldn’t want her to remain stuck.
“She would’ve wanted me to move forward,” she said.
Knowing more about Chauvin’s final moments is the missing piece of the puzzle.
“I still don’t have the real closure.
“I’m just going on a hope and a prayer.”
Anyone with information may contact Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502, or Perron at carmenperron@mail.com
tholmes@peacearchnews.com
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