Violent storm in northeast New Brunswick leaves 2 dead

Officials say one was snowshoeing, the other was on her deck

CBC - The bodies of the two people who died were found Wednesday, two days after the snowstorm started on the Acadian Peninsula, RCMP said. (Alix Villeneuve/Radio-Canada)

The bodies of the two people who died were found Wednesday, two days after the snowstorm started on the Acadian Peninsula, RCMP said. (Alix Villeneuve/Radio-Canada)

A violent storm that hit the Acadian Peninsula has left two people dead this week, RCMP say.

A 90-year-old woman was found dead on the deck of her home in Paquetville. The woman was found by a man plowing her driveway at around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"The storm was pretty bad in the Acadian Peninsula, plus it was really cold," said Sgt. André Pepin of the RCMP's J-Division.

Pepin said police aren't sure why the woman was outside.

Meanwhile, the body of a 53-year-old man wearing snowshoes was found in Bas-Caraquet just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday near his home.

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"He was found yesterday [Wednesday] morning in the snowbank."

The man left his nearby residence during the storm Monday night but never returned home.

He was reported missing Tuesday night.

Pepin said the two deaths are not considered suspicious, and foul play is not suspected.

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The storm that swept through the Acadian Peninsula left about 40 centimetres of snow in the area. According to Environment Canada, winds with gusts of up to 90 km/h blew over the region.

Pepin is reminding the public that when a major storm moves in, don't go out.

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"When the weather is bad, it's a lot safer to stay inside the house and not go out if you don't have to," he said.

"Just going out for fun, it could be risky during a snowstorm."

This article, written by Elizabeth Fraser, was originally published for CBC News.