Update: Jan 13, 4 p.m.
Police say it was a 38-year-old woman who died in the Energy Court encampment just before 10 p.m. on Jan. 13 after a tent caught fire. It is still unclear whether she was killed by the fire, which even left first responders unable to identify her gender.
GSPS issued a release stating her next of kin has been notified and "her identity will not be released out of respect for her family’s wishes."
The release states the police will continue to work in collaboration with the Coroner’s Office and the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office to
determine the cause of death and the cause of the fire. "The investigation into this incident is ongoing," said police.
Police are asking anyone with information related to this matter to contact police at (705)675-9171 or Crime Stoppers at (705)222-8477.
Update: Jan. 13, 9 a.m.
An investigation has been launched to both determine the cause of death and identify the person whose body was found inside a burning tent in the Energy Court homeless encampment near downtown Sudbury last night.
Greater Sudbury Police and Greater Sudbury Fire Services were dispatched to the encampment off Lorne Street at around 9:52 p.m. on Jan. 12.
Reached by phone earlier this morning, Fire Chief Rob Grimwood said the fire was all but extinguished by the time emergency responders arrived on the scene.
“Dispatch updated us while we were on route that there was the possibility of a person in the tent and we arrived at 956, so we arrived within four minutes, and the fire had already essentially extinguished, it was just smouldering,” he told Sudbury.com. “Police were already on scene, we assisted them with confirming that it was a fatality, and then in the interest of preserving evidence, we left the scene with them and notified the fire marshal's office, who will be attending today and working with the police to complete the investigation.”
In a news release issued at 8:45 a.m. today, GSPS provided more information on the situation last night.
"Just before 10:00 p.m. on January 12, 2026, Greater Sudbury Police, Fire and Paramedic Services were dispatched to Energy Court in relation to a deceased person," the news release states. "Information provided was that individuals noticed a tent on fire and managed to put out the fire with snow, however, upon extinguishing the fire, the individuals realized there was a deceased person inside the tent.
"The individuals notified security who contacted emergency services."
Police said the identity of the person who was found remains unknown. Also unknown at this time is the gender of the person. The cause of the fire is also under investigation.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted by the Office of the Regional Supervising Coroner - North Region to determine the person's identity and cause of death.
The investigation is being conducted by the GSPS Major Crime Section in collaboration with the coroner's office and the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office.