Witness who found woman dead on Thunder Bay bike path says she appeared to have been beaten

A woman found dead on a bike trail known as the "blackpath" in Thunder Bay earlyTuesday morning appeared to have been badly beaten, according to the passerby who found her body.

Devin Galloway, 23, said he was walking to buy cigarettesabout 15 minutesafter midnight when he found the woman face down in the middle of a section of the bikepath nearthe Landmark Hotel.

"I seen the big lump on her face. I knew right away she got assaulted," he said.

"It looked bad."

Thunder Bay police are treating the death as a homicide.

The areawhere the woman was found has become locally known as the "black path" because of the number of deaths and assaults that have occurred along its stretches.

Marlan Patrick Chookomolin, 25,was found beaten and near death on the same bike path network shortly after midnight on June 25, 2017. He later died in hospital. His deathremains unsolved.

• Thunder Bay's 'black path' troubles residents

• Marlan Patrick Chookomolin, 25, dies in Thunder Bay, Ont., hospital

In 2010, a 16-year-old girl was found dead in the area of the trail.Two teens were convicted in connectionwith her death.

Galloway said he thought the woman was unconscious at first and thenrealized it didn't seem that she was breathing.

"I ran back [home] as fast as I could and called the cops," he said.

He said he returned to the scene with a police officer who turned the woman over and tried to resuscitate her to no avail.

He was interviewed at the scene and re-interviewed by detectives at his home on Tuesday morning.

"I feel bad for the family, if she has any kids oranything," he said.