Maintenance worker finds body in wall behind toilet in Calgary mall

Calgary police are investigating after a body was found in a wall in a downtown mall bathroom.

Spokeswoman Emma Poole said a maintenance worker was called Monday morning to fix a toilet that wouldn’t flush in a women’s washroom in the Core Shopping Centre.

“If you were to look at the toilet, there’s a panel behind it so that when people move it would automatically flush,” she said. “When they removed that panel, they found a deceased person behind that wall.”

Yellow caution tape was draped across the women’s bathroom entrance as several security guards turned people away Monday. People in the nearby food court were eating and others were using the men’s bathroom as police ducked in and out of the women’s bathroom.

Four firefighters arrived at the scene to help remove the remains and the medical examiner was also on the scene.

Poole said investigators have not yet determined if the death is suspicious.

She said it’s possible someone crawling through a vent or duct fell from above and got stuck in the wall.

“That would be the most logical at this point is that it was from above,” said Poole. “So that is obviously something they would be looking at is someone crawling through the ventilation system.”

— With files from Chris Purdy in Edmonton

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press