Relative says woman found dead on fire escape may have been locked out

Police say in a news release that their investigation and an autopsy have found nothing suspicious.

SASKATOON— A relative of a woman found dead on a fire escape in Saskatoon says it’s possible she froze to death after being locked out.

The relative, who didn’t want to give her name out of concern that other family members would be upset, confirms Rita May Arnault was the person police say was discovered by a passerby early Thursday.

Police say in a news release that their investigation and an autopsy have found nothing suspicious, but investigators are still asking anyone with information or surveillance video from the area to contact them.

The relative says Arnault lived in North Battleford and was staying with a friend in Saskatoon, where she visited frequently to help care for her mother.

She says Arnault did drink when she came to Saskatoon, and it’s possible she was intoxicated when she got onto the fire escape.

The temperature dropped as low as -30 C the night before her body was discovered.

“She probably was drinking and she probably got locked out and just sat there and felt warm and passed out,” the relative said.

“Nobody went and found her.”

The relative said Arnault recently survived breast cancer.

She also said Arnault just learned she would be a grandmother.