On a sunny summer Sunday, two residents on Davey Drive were out cutting their grass, while another, a few doors away on Cedar Island Road, hosed off his siding.
It appeared as if it was just another day in the neighbourhood tucked between Front Street and Lake Couchiching.
But that sense of normalcy belied the tragedy that occurred in the enclave Friday.
At about 5:50 a.m., Friday, the neighbourhood was abuzz with emergency services vehicles after a 911 caller reported there was an injured person outside 114 Davey Dr., home of the Silver Swan Villa, a ramshackle collection of rental units that sprawls toward the water from the intersection of Cedar Island Road.
Paramedics rushed the woman to Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
She was later identified as Tracy Reid, a 45-year-old woman neighbours said formerly lived at Silver Swan.
Orillia OPP are calling it a "suspicious death" but have not provided any other details.
They say a post-mortem examination will be conducted in Toronto.
The investigation "is continuing by the Orillia OPP Crime Unit and Central Region Forensic Identification Services, under the direction of Detective Inspector Chris Landry of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch," noted a press release issued Friday night at 9:30 p.m.
Neither Orillia OPP nor Central Region OPP media officers have responded to several questions from OrilliaMatters about this incident.
OrilliaMatters was looking for more details about how the woman died, if the death is a homicide and if anyone has been arrested in connection with this incident. Those questions have not been answered.
Neighbours also have lots of questions as the area of Silver Swan where the death occurred remains encircled by crime-scene tape. There is an OPP SUV and an OPP cruiser still at the scene; both vehicles had officers in them earlier today.
There has been a rash of criminal activity in the area over the last several weeks, most of it centred around Silver Swan.
In fact, nearby residents have started their own neighbourhood watch program and are trying to look out for one another.
“It’s been really, really bad in the past two years and now we’ve had enough,” Ashley Stone, who lives on Cedar Island Road with her fiancé, Stewart Lehmann, and their two young children, told OrilliaMatters earlier this month.
Police activity has been seen in the area “every day, if not more than once,” she said.
“I’ve been told three times in the past six months to stay inside because they’re looking for a suspect.”
In the wake of those incidents, which ranged from thefts to vandalism and break-ins, Orillia OPP agreed to step up partrols in the area.
“Orillia OPP have met with the members of the group and we are working on a community mobilization plan,” Const. Ted Dongelmans told OrilliaMatters on July 9.
As for Friday's incident, the OPP's press release — its only communication about the incident — said it will release information when it's available.
