Police investigating death of woman in Okanagan skiing incident
Kelowna RCMP and the BC Coroners Service are investigating the death of a 57-year-old woman who had been skiing at the Big White Ski Resort in the Okanagan.
Police said emergency crews rushed to the resort after receiving a 911 call at 4:17 p.m. Jan. 2, reporting a woman had been found dead.
Friends and family have posted messages on social media identifying her as Kelowna General Hospital nurse Carrie Koski, who was an active member of the group Moms Stop the Harm.
Searchers discovered Koski in a wooded area, but she could not be resuscitated, according to investigators.
"Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the woman passed away. At this time, criminality is not suspected in her death," Kelowna RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy said in a statement.
The BC Coroners Service and the RCMP are looking into what happened.
Nurse remembered
Helen Jennens met Koski four years ago when she joined Moms Stop the Harm after she lost her son Tyler and Koski's son Mathew had died.
"She was a nurse there in ICU and after the loss of Mathew, she really wanted to tackle stigma. So this year, she approached the hospital to see if we could put up the white tree in their lobby. So we went and we put the white tree up with the purple ornaments. And Carrie found somebody that would help her get pictures of kids to put in the clear ornaments."
Jennens said Koski who was a mother of five children, was kind and fun-loving but could also be serious and focused when she put her mind to something, which included playing an active role in advocating for a change in drug policies and providing support to other families that had lost loved ones to drug use.
Jennens said Koski had been working 12-hour shifts before her vacation and was looking forward to the adventure.
The two friends chatted online before Koski left for a five-day ski trip with family to Big White.
She learned later the weather had been foggy and Koski had hit a tree well.
Jennens said the news of her death came as a shock and she will be missed by family, friends and those she helped.
