Body of missing N.S. officer found in Halifax
Man taken into custody
HALIFAX — Homicide investigators in Halifax are interviewing a 27-year-old man taken into custody in connection with the death of a Nova Scotia police officer, but say they don’t believe the murder is related to the officer’s work.
Police say the body of Catherine Campbell was discovered in a wooded area east of Barrington Street at North Street near an overpass that leads to the Macdonald Bridge connecting Halifax and Dartmouth at about 12:10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Just over an hour later at 1:20 a.m., they say they took a Halifax man into custody for questioning. No charges have been laid.
Campbell was reported missing on Monday when she didn’t show up for work at the Truro Police Service.
The chief of police said telling Susan and Dwight Campbell of their daughter’s death at 2 a.m. Wednesday after her body was found was a painful duty.
“In my 22 years as a police officer this is the most difficult day I’ve had to put in,” said Chief Dave MacNeil in an interview outside the Truro police force headquarters.
Officers watching him speak struggled to control their emotions, and hugged one another as he concluded his comments.
Supt. Jim Perrin of Halifax Regional Police said Campbell was last seen at a bar in downtown Halifax early on Friday morning.
Officers arrested the man in a car, which has been seized, and are also searching two homes in Halifax, said Perrin.
He said there is nothing in Campbell’s work history that is a factor in their investigation.
“Catherine Campbell did nothing to cause what happened to her. Our focus is what did happen,” Perrin told a news conference.
“I have no details to suggest that her being a police officer had anything to do with what ultimately happened to her.”
Perrin said police believe Campbell knew the man they have in custody.
“What we don’t know is how long they have known each other for, that’s all part of the investigation,” he added.
He wouldn’t say when police believe Campbell died.
Campbell was a constable with the police department in Truro and her mother said she loved being a police officer.
“Catherine was a loving person, a dedicated police officer. ... She was conscientious,” said Susan Campbell in a telephone interview.
Campbell was a volunteer member of the fire department in her hometown of Stellarton for a decade, and her mother said she’d held a variety of jobs in the community before deciding to train as a police officer, finding a job in Truro as soon as she graduated.
“She was highly thought of at the Truro police force,” said Susan Campbell of her daughter’s six-year career on the force as a patrol officer.