An autopsy on Tempest Gale has found that she died as a result of homicide, police say.An autopsy on Tempest Gale has found that she died as a result of homicide, police say. (MySpace)

The death of a woman on B.C.'s Hornby Island on Wednesday is now being investigated as a homicide, police say.

An autopsy was conducted Friday on the body of Tempest Gale, 25.

"As a result of the autopsy, foul play is suspected and this investigation is being treated as a homicide," RCMP Const. Tammy Douglas said in a news release.

Details on the cause of death will not be released for now, Douglas said.

Investigators have been gathering evidence at Ford's Cove Marina on the island, located off the east coast of Vancouver Island, where Gale's body was reportedly pulled from the water by her boyfriend Wednesday morning.

A person of interest was taken into custody and questioned Thursday and later released, police said.


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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.

Hornby Island, with a population of about 1,000 people, has no permanent police presence and is within the jurisdiction of the Comox Valley RCMP detachment on Vancouver Island.

All avenues of investigation are being explored with considerable resources working on this file, Douglas said.

Police ask that anyone who has information that might help the investigation to call the RCMP at 250-338-1321 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.