Cortney Lake disappearance now a homicide investigation, RNC says

Police are now investigating Cortney Lake's disappearance as a homicide and police say they've identified more than one personof interest.

Lake, 24, was last seen on June 7 just before 8 p.m., walking away from her home on Wellington Street in Mount Pearl.

"The RNC's Major Crime Unit is now investigating the disappearance of Cortney Lake as a murder investigation," Const. Geoff Higdon told reporters Friday morning.

Newly-released footage shows Lake getting into a black GMC pickup truck on Michener Avenue, near her home,at exactly 7:54 p.m. NT.

Video, taken from a vehicle's dashcam, shows Lake walking down the road when the black pickup pulls up next to her. Lake then gets into the passenger side of the truck.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said Friday it has received dozens of calls from the public which has been helpful in establishingthe timeline around Lake's disappearance.

Information has also led to a "significant amount of evidence" that leads investigators to believe this is a homicide.

RAW: RNC hold news conference on Cortney Lake homicide

7 years ago

Duration 17:37

Police provided more information on the search for Cortney Lake Friday announcing they believe the mother of one was murdered.

"Informationthusfarhas led investigators to believe thatCortneyLake was murdered and investigators have identified people of interest, but we will not be providing any information on who may be involved or how they may be involved,"Higdonsaid.

Higdon added that he couldn't releasespecific details which led investigators to change the investigation from a missing personcase to a homicide.

Taken to secluded area

Police believe Lake was taken to a secluded wooded area a short drive from where she was picked up on June 7.

"Unfortunately we don't know how far she would have been driven," Higdon said.

Searches have been conducted in the Galway development, around Power's Pond in Mount Pearl, in wooded areas off the Outer Ring Road, as well as in theSeal Cove area ofConception Bay South.

The RNC said the black pickup in question hasa Browning camouflage deer head decal on the passenger side of the truck's back window.

Dashcam video shows Cortney Lake getting into truck prior to suspected death

7 years ago

Duration 0:58

CBC footage shows a black truck matching the same description provided by police in Lake's ex-boyfriend's driveway

The description of the truck being sought by police matches the truck seized from25-year-old Philip Steven Smith's Alice Drive home earlier this week.

However, police have not confirmed that the truck in the dashcam video belongs to Smith.

Anyone who may have seen theblack GMC truck in the area at the time of Lake's disappearance, or who may also have dashcamfootage,is asked to call the RNC at 709-729-8000or Crime Stoppers.

'We will not rest,' family says

Lake's family released a statement Friday morning, following the police update.

"Our hearts are forever broken," Lake's aunt Glenda Power said in an emailed statement.

"Cortney has been taken from us in the worst way imaginable. We are horrified and devastated as we think of what her last moments on this earth might have been."

Lake was the mother of a six-year-old boy.

Power's statement said the family is imploring the public to come forward with any information that could be helpful to the investigation.

"We will not rest until we bring Cortney home," the message said. "She must be found."

Home of ex-boyfriend searched earlier this week

Earlier this week, officers searched the Alice Drive home of Lake's ex-boyfriend, 25-year-old Philip Steven Smith.

• On same day Cortney Lake disappeared, Philip Smith pleaded guilty to assaulting her in April
• Cortney Lake disappearance: Police search ex-boyfriend's home, remove items

Court documents show that Smith appeared in court on June 7, the same day Lake went missing, and pleaded guilty to a number of offences, including assaulting Lake, 24.

Smith was convicted and received a suspended sentence for the April 15 assault. He was also convicted of breaching a recognizance that prohibited him from contacting Lake or her mother, Lisa Lake. That offence happened June 5.

Police have held Smith in custody since his home was searched Tuesday.