N.L. police name dead man as suspect in Cortney Lake vanishing

Police have named a dead man as the only suspect in a young Newfoundland woman’s disappearance, as her mother pleaded for people to come forward with information in a presumed homicide that has gripped the province for months.

Cortney Lake, a 24-year-old mother of a young son, vanished June 7 after getting into a truck near her home in Mount Pearl, near St. John’s.

“As Cortney’s mother, I cannot accept that we may never find her,” Lisa Lake told reporters during a press conference Tuesday, breaking into tears. “I am begging today for anyone, anybody who can help us find Cortney please, please come forward.”

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said Philip Smith, her ex-boyfriend, was the only suspect in the homicide. The 25-year-old man was found dead Nov. 1 in the woods near Bellevue Beach, about an hour west of St. John’s.

Police said Smith’s death was neither suspicious nor criminal in nature but haven’t confirmed multiple reports he had killed himself. Investigators said they found no clues about Lake during a search of the area after Smith’s body was recovered.