B.C.'s chief coroner has ordered that the investigation into the death of Indigenous woman, Tatyanna Harrison, be reopened three years after her body was found. 

The body of 20-year-old Tatyanna Harrison was , the day before she was reported missing, a Vancouver Police Department release said in August of 2022. She had been reported missing by her mother, Natasha, on May 3, 2022.

"As a parent, I cannot fathom the trauma and grief that the Harrison family has experienced over the past three years. The pain of losing a child is unimaginable, and the concerns the Harrisons have expressed regarding the circumstances of Tatyanna's death only adds to that pain," Dr. Jatinder Baidwan said in a statement Tuesday (May 6).

Baidwan said that having reviewed the investigative findings regarding Harrison's death, "and considering my obligation as chief coroner to ensure public confidence in the BC Coroners Service and its processes," he would be ordering the investigation be reopened. 

He also directed that a coroner's inquest publicly review the circumstances that led to Harrison's death.

""An inquest will provide an opportunity for a broad, open and transparent review of the circumstances related to Tatyanna's death, and my hope is that the jury will be able to make meaningful recommendations that will prevent similar deaths from occurring in the future."

The date and location of the inquest have not yet been released.

It was on July 14 that Richmond RCMP released a sketch of a woman who had been found dead near a marina in the 6900-block of Graybar Road on May 2.

Richmond RCMP said she was found on an 鈥渙lder 40-foot yacht which was in dry dock at the marina,鈥� adding 鈥渁t this time, her death is not considered suspicious.鈥�

In August 2022, Vancouver police Const. Tania Visintin said investigators believed Harrison died in another city before she was reported missing. She added the coroners service informed the VPD that Harrison 鈥渄ied from drug toxicity, specifically fentanyl.鈥漒

On Monday, the BC First Nations Justice Council issued a release that its council stands in solidarity with the families and advocates calling for coroner's inquests into the deaths of Harrison, Chelsea Poorman and Noelle O'Soup. It also called on Public Safety Minister Garry Begg to "immediately direct a coroner's inquest into their tragic and suspicious deaths."

Monday was Red Dress Day, which is a national day of awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. 

Harrison and Poorman, two Indigenous women, and O'Soup and Indigenous girl, all went missing in the Lower Mainland between 2020 and 2022.

"They were later found under deeply troubling and unclear circumstances. Each case is marked by investigative negligence, police inaction, and a broader pattern of systemic racism and gender-based violence that continues to endanger Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people across British Columbia and Canada," the release reads.

Regarding inquests into the deaths of Poorman and O'Soup, Baidwan said those investigations remain open and determinations about whether to proceed to an inquest "will be made at a future date." Baidwan added the coroner's service remains in communication with the Poorman and O'Soup families throughout the process.