Dowker Island

Dowker Island

l'Île Dowker
Picture taken on Dowker Island in the Summer.
Geography
Location	Saint Lawrence River
Coordinates	45°24′10″N 73°53′40″W / 45.40278°N 73.89444°W / 45.40278; -73.89444Coordinates: 45°24′10″N 73°53′40″W / 45.40278°N 73.89444°W / 45.40278; -73.89444
Archipelago	Hochelaga Archipelago
Area	1 km2 (0.4 sq mi)
Length	1 km (0.6 mi)
Width	1 km (0.6 mi)
Country
Canada
Province	Quebec
City	Montreal

Dowker Island is part of the Hochelaga Archipelago in Lake Saint Louis, Quebec, between the Island of Montreal and the Île Perrot. Although near the towns of Baie-d'Urfé and Beaconsfield, it is administratively part of l'Île-Perrot.

The flat, wooded, and uninhabited island is about a kilometer in length and breadth.

Dowker Island, then known as île Sainte-Geneviève, was granted to François-Marie Perrot, the governor of Montreal, by Jean Talon, on 29 October 1672, along with the île Perrot. In 1897, the eponymous Leslie Rose Dowker, acquired the island.

In the summer the island is easily accessible by small boat, and in winter on foot over the frozen lake. The water north of the island popular for ice fishing.

Ruins on Dowker Island

The ruins of the house in the winter.

The ruins of a two-story house stand in the middle of Dowker Island. The house was built by Leslie Rose Dowker after he bought the island in 1887. He lived there until his death in 1945.

The building burned down in 1960.

Woman's frozen body found on Dowker Island

On Sunday, January 23, 2011, 33 year old American woman, Rachel Ann Wilkes, was found frozen to death on Dowker Island^[1] where she had gone walking the previous evening. Her body was found by a passerby who was walking around the island. There were no visible physical injuries on the body.

Ms. Wilkes was not dressed appropriately for the extremely cold temperatures which reached an overnight low of -23 degrees C. Tracks in the snow indicate that she walked around on the island before succumbing to the cold and collapsing on the frozen lake.

When found, her body was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy was performed to determine the exact cause of death.

A marker has been placed near the site now called "Rachel's Point."

External links

• Dowker Island, montreal.com
• Photo tour of Dowker Island

References

1. ^ "Woman's frozen body found on Dowker Island". Gazette. 2011-01-24. http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Woman+frozen+body+found+Dowker+Island/4152805/story.html.