An autopsy was scheduled Friday for Tempest Gale, whose body was found Wednesday. (MySpace)

Some residents of Hornby Island in B.C.'s Strait of Georgia say the death of a popular local artist has heightened fears and concerns about the lack of police and mental health services in their community.

The body of Tempest Gale, 25, was found in the water near Ford's Cove Marina on Wednesday morning.

Police called it "a sudden death." An autopsy is scheduled to be performed Friday.

Some on the island suggested Gale may have slipped on the pier and fallen in the water accidentally. Other islanders suspect that a man who they say had been harassing Gale's family might know something about Tempest's death.

Locals said the man once lived in a group home on Hornby Island, 150 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, and had recently returned, living on a boat in the marina where the Gale family also lived.

'He was known to behave in odd ways.'—Judith Lawrence, Hornby Island resident

Friends said Tempest's parents moved from their boat to a friend's house recently because this man was stalking them.

After Gale's body was discovered, police took the man into custody as a person of interest but released him Thursday without charges or conditions. His release has made some on the island concerned.

"This person of interest was known to behave in odd and bizarre ways, and say strange things and to confront people and to pick arguments with people," Hornby resident Judith Lawrence told CBC News.

Police said the man's activities had never been reported to them.

"Even though we don't have a year-round presence on the island, it is important that everything is reported so that we have a good idea of what's going on," said RCMP Const. Tammy Douglas, media liaison in the Comox Valley detachment on Vancouver Island.

Gale was a well-liked character on the island who sang with a local folk-punk group, the Killer Bagels. She was often seen on stilts or a unicycle and liked to read her poetry in spoken-word performances.

Anyone who has information about Tempest Gale's death is asked to contact Comox Valley RCMP at 250-334-5918.