Approaching the 10-year anniversary of her daughterâs 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?
âIâm still aching to find answers,â Perron told Peace Arch News.
âSomebodyâs gotta have some answer, or know something or saw something.â
Chauvinâs 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.
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Officers with Surrey RCMPâs 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 didnât think Chauvin had been there long at that point.
Police also said there was no evidence of foul play â an autopsy found âa mixâ of drugs in Chauvinâs system â but described some of the circumstances as âunusual,â 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 âsomeone did something terribly wrong.â They confirmed that a person of interest had been identified âwithin the first weeksâ following the discovery of Chauvinâs body, and that a Surrey man had been arrested in October 2013.
But while a charge of âindignity to dead bodyâ 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 daughterâs 30th birthday on the horizon (May 18), Perron said she couldnât let the impending 10-year anniversary of her death just quietly pass.
âI would regret just not mentioning it again, and then finding out years laterâ that somebody knew something.
And while she feels guilty for not being able to help her daughter âwhen she needed me the mostâ â Chauvin is among more than 200 remembered at a site in Sudbury, Ont., where white crosses represent individuals who have died of drug overdose â Perron said she knows Chauvin wouldnât want her to remain stuck.
âShe wouldâve wanted me to move forward,â she said.
Knowing more about Chauvinâs final moments is the missing piece of the puzzle.
âI still donât have the real closure.
âIâm just going on a hope and a prayer.â
Anyone with information may contact Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502, or Perron at carmenperron@mail.com
tholmes@peacearchnews.com
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