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Individual found dead at Yellowknife Women’s Society shelter

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The Yellowknife Women’s Society has confirmed on its social media the death of a resident at the organization’s Franklin Avenue shelter on the evening of Jan. 17. The RCMP and coroner have been notified and the investigation is ongoing. Kaicheng Xin/NNSL photo

The Yellowknife Women’s Society has confirmed that a resident of its shelter on Franklin Avenue has died.

NNSL Media first learned of the death on Thursday morning and was told that the deceased was discovered Wednesday evening.

Renee Sanderson, the society’s executive director, told NNSL Media Thursday that the society was in the process of gathering information and couldn’t provide a detailed comment.

“Our present focus is the safety and well-being of our staff and residents as we work with the relevant authorities at this time,” she stated.

The society released a statement later in the day confirming what had happened, adding that RCMP had been called and were helping in the investigation.

In response to questions, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Matt Halstead said the NWT Coroner’s Office was taking the lead on the investigation. The coroner’s office is responsible for all sudden and unexpected deaths.

There was no comment from the coroner’s office as of press time Thursday evening.