Catherine Campbell, missing N.S. police officer, found dead with murder suspected

The body of Truro, N.S., police Const. Catherine Campbell, who had been missing since Sept. 10, has been found, and Halifax Regional Police are treating the deathas a homicide.

An officer found the body of a woman shortly after midnight, in a wooded area east of BarringtonStreet at North Street in Halifax, police said. They don't believe the murder isrelated to the officer's work.

"While an autopsy is scheduled for later today [Wednesday], investigators in the Integrated Criminal Investigation Division believe the remains to be those of 36-year-old Catherine Campbell and are treating her death as a homicide," police said in a statement.

• Truro police will 'rally around each other' after colleague's death: chief

At a news conference Wednesday, police saidthey suspected Campbell was dead Tuesday afternoon and the missing persons case turned into a homicide investigation.

A 27-year-old Halifax man was arrested at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday in Clayton Park and is being questioned. Police have 24 hours to lay a charge or release the suspect.

No charges have been laid but police hope their investigation will lead to charges.

Police say there are no other suspects at this time. Theybelieve Campbell and the suspect knew eachother.

Police say they can't get into too many details because investigation is still "fluid."

Halifax police were investigatingthree scenes Wednesday:

• Under the Macdonald bridge where Campbell's body wasfound.
• A home on McCully Street in Halifax.
• A home on Chadwick Place in the Clayton Park suburb.

Halifax police are expected to provide an update on the caselater Wednesday.

HRP said Campbell was last seen in Dartmouth on the morning of Sept. 10. She was a constable with theTruroPolice Service and a volunteer firefighterfor 10 years.

On Monday morning, Campbell was scheduled to report for work but didn't show up. Her sistersaid that wasn't inCampbell's nature.

Initially, police reported Campbell was last seen at her Windmill Road address in Dartmouth, N.S. However, police say further investigation revealed that she was at a bar in downtown Halifax in the early hours of Sept. 11.

TruropoliceChief David MacNeilsaid he spoke to Campbell's parents.

"Telling them about Catherine's death was one of the most difficult things I've ever done as chief of police," he saidin a statement.

'This breaks my heart'

Dwight Campbell, her father, and her sister Amy Garneau, toldCBC News earlier Wednesdaymorningthat Campbell had been found dead.

"As I write this, it breaks my heart, we have found Catherine. My family would like to thank everyone who sent out prayers, hopeand support during this time. My sister has gone home to be with the angels," Garneau wrote on the Facebook Group called Please Help us find Catherine Campbell.

Garneausaid Campbell, originally fromStellarton, moved to Dartmouth in June and commuted daily toTruro.

The Truro Police Service said in a statement Wednesday that"no words can express how deeply this loss has impacted our service."

"Catherine was a phenomenal person and an outstanding police officer who proudly served our community since 2009. Her loss is felt by the entire community, and we thank you all for your support and kind words."

Halifax police say its members are also grieving.

"We express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Catherine Campbell at this extremely difficult time. Her familyrespectfully requests that the media offer them privacy as they grieve Catherine's passing," HRP said in a news release.

"Our thoughts are also with the Truro Police Service on the loss of one of their own. We can attest that losing a member of the policing family is extremely hard to bear but would be even more difficult given the tragic circumstances of Catherine's death. The entire police community is mourning this loss."