CANADA • Amber KIRWAN, 19 ~ New Glasgow NS

October 10, 2011 - On Sunday the police received a report that Kirwan, 19, was missing. She was last seen at Dooley’s New Glasgow at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning and has not been seen or heard from since that time. She was reported missing to police at 5.00 p.m. Sunday evening by family. She was last seen wearing dark clothing.



Groups of people could be seen walking around town as a DNR helicopter buzzed above searching for the woman.

Police and family say it is completely uncharacteristic for her to go anywhere without telling anyone.

"Our biggest concern from our investigation is this is out of her character," said New Glasgow Police Const. Ken MacDonald. "With that information in mind, we have increased our search and increased our efforts.

Police have been talking to local businesses, local neighbourhoods, taxi companies as well as family and friends about Kirwan but have not been able to locate her.

Police are asking for Amber Kirwan or anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact New Glasgow Police Service, or Crime Stoppers anonymously anytime at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by Secure Web Tips at www.crimestoppers.ns.

Via the New Glasgow Police Services Facebook page, police are asking for the public's assistance in a ground search. It's suggested searchers begin at the New Glasgow Needs, but people are encouraged to search anywhere in the county.

http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2011-10-10/article-2773021/Pictou-County-woman-missing/1

Mason Campbell says he will not stop searching until his girlfriend Amber Kirwan is found.


Family and friends as well as dozens of other
volunteers joined the New Glasgow Police Service Major Crime Unit, New
Glasgow Fire Department, DNR and members of the Pictou County Volunteer
Search and Rescue in the ongoing search for the 19-year-old Pictou
County resident yesterday after news of her disappearance spread on
Facebook and through news outlets.


Kirwan’s family reported her missing to police
Sunday evening. She was last seen at Dooly’s New Glasgow at 1:30 a.m. on
Sunday morning and has not been seen or heard from since that time. She
was last seen wearing dark clothing.


Campbell said Kirwan called him from Dooly’s and
asked him to pick her up. They agreed to meet at Big Al’s. When he got
there though, she wasn’t there, so he tried calling the number she had
called from but no one saw here there. He returned to Big Al’s but she
was nowhere to be seen.


He said Kirwan took a cab into Dooly’s and he had planned to join her, but was unable to.


He said they've been getting some leads, but were told not to go public with any until the police can investigate.


He said friends and family will continue to search as long as it takes.


"We can't stop until she's found," he said. “If she's not found in a year, we're looking for a year.”


He was personally following up on leads and trying to recruit help.


"At this point it's all on me to find out where my girlfriend is," he said. "I've got to get her home."


Groups of people could be seen walking around town
putting up missing person posters as a DNR helicopter buzzed above
searching for the woman Monday afternoon.


Police and family say it is completely uncharacteristic for her to go anywhere without telling anyone.


"Our biggest concern from our investigation is this
is out of her character," said New Glasgow Police Const. Ken MacDonald.
"With that information in mind, we have increased our search and
increased our efforts.


Police have been talking to local businesses, local
neighbourhoods, taxi companies as well as family and friends about
Kirwan but have not been able to locate her.
Police are asking for Kirwan or anyone with
information about her whereabouts to contact New Glasgow Police Service,
or Crime Stoppers anonymously anytime at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by
Secure Web Tips at www.crimestoppers.ns.


Even people who do not know Kirwan, have been helping out with the search.


Evita Desmond said that someone came knocking at
her door asking if she’d seen Kirwan. She quickly joined the search
herself because as a mother she understands how awful it would be to
have a missing child.”


Donna Gerrior has a daughter who went to school with Kirwan and said she is praying for the girl’s safe return.


“Hopefully it never happens again to anybody else,” she said.


A Facebook profile called "New Glasgow Police
Services" is giving information about the search but MacDonald said it
is not an official police page and that the department will be
investigating who is responsible for the page.


The profile now has a note up saying: "this is not a
police officer or a dispatcher etc when i made this page i didnt expect
all the likes wich i do appreciate i really do i thank for that but i
had thoughts of closeing it but when amber went missing i thought it
would be a good idea to leave it up and help each other out to find her
thats why its up and the updates i get are the ones i know or are the
ones i see so lets keep searching and bring her home."


The site claims that Kirwan was spotted at the
Needs around 9 p.m. in New Glasgow with a man yesterday, but MacDonald
said there has been nothing confirmed although police are investigating
rumours. He said they are going to many businesses to see if they have
any video of the woman.


A Needs employee refused to comment about the
woman’s disappearance. An employee of Dooly’s who was working the night
Kirwan went missing, said that the woman was not kicked out of the
establishment as some rumours have said. She said she didn’t remember
seeing Kirwan, but there was only one woman kicked out and it wasn’t
her.
http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2011-10-10/article-2773021/Amber-Kirwan-still-missing--UPDATED/1

Amber Kirwan still missing - UPDATE Tues. Oct. 11



There is no new information on a missing Pictou County woman, who has not been seen since early Sunday morning.

Amber Kirwan, 19, left Dooly’s in New Glasgow around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday and headed towards Big Al’s to meet her boyfriend, but never arrived at her destination.

Police are changing their search tactics today, says Const. Ken MacDonald.

“We don’t have search and rescue today – the reason we had Ground Search and Rescue is because we had a large wooded area and we wanted to cover all our bases,” MacDonald said. “Today, we’re having our officers patrol, we have an extra compliment of officers on for this investigation. We’re going to be going door to door, looking in bus shelters, taxis, visiting neighbourhoods, buses, and we’ll go from there.”

http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2011-10-10/article-2773021/Amber-Kirwan-still-missing---UPDATE-Tues.-Oct.-11,-8%3A48-a.m./1

October 12, 2011 - Search and rescue teams from across Nova Scotia have joined New Glasgow Police in the search for 19-year-old Amber Kirwan, who disappeared early Sunday.

A zodiac rescue boat and three kayaks were seen scouring the East River in Abercrombie, several kilometres from where Kirwan was last seen.

"We're looking for any sort of evidence that may be present," says New Glasgow Fire Chief Doug Dort. "It's like a needle in a haystack. We've got to look for something and we don't know where to start, but we're doing a general search of the river."

Five ground search and rescue teams joined in the effort, bringing the number of trained searchers to more than 100.

"It's pretty rough, but we do what we can," says Dave Harrison, a member of Springhill Search and Rescue. "We all come together at times like this, and hopefully we can come up with some good luck."

Kirwan had been at Dooly's pool hall in New Glasgow with a group of friends the night she disappeared.

She had planned to meet her boyfriend at Big Al's, a nearby convenience store, and Kirwan's friends say she left the pool hall around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, intending to walk to the store.

But that was the last time they saw her.

Her boyfriend, Mason Campbell, says he arrived at Big Al's, but Kirwan never showed up.

He tells CTV News he has spoken with investigators twice, for a total of about four hours, but he says he has nothing to do with Kirwan's disappearance.

"That's the last thing I want to hear going around," says Mason Campbell. "That doesn't help any bit of this situation."

"I loved her with all my heart. I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. When she is turned up, I will spend every single day of my life with her."

Friends, family and community members have been appealing to the public for help in locating Kirwan. Many Pictou County residents spent their Thanksgiving Day combing the woods and banks of the East River, and posters of Kirwan have been plastered around the province.

"I know if I was missing I wouldn't want my friends to give up," Maggie Chickness, a close friend who was with Kirwan the night she disappeared, told CTV News on Tuesday. "I know what I'm going through, personally, for being one of the last people to see her. I can't even imagine what her parents are going through and I don't want to give up."

Police extended their search to the outskirts of New Glasgow and into the old abandoned Tibbetts Paint Factory building in Trenton on Tuesday.

Their search was extended even further Wednesday, as they searched around Abercrombie and further into Trenton.

A spokesman with New Glasgow Police says search crews have found articles of clothing in various places, but it's too early to tell if they are connected to the case.

"Anything that is gathered, any information that is received, we treat it as very crucial," says Const. Ken MacDonald. "But we also have to analyze it to check its authenticity."

Several Facebook groups have been created, appealing to the public for help in locating Kirwan, with one group boasting as many as 4,000 members.

Police say they did spot Kirwan on a surveillance tape from Dooly's from the night she disappeared, but they have not released that tape to the public.

Friends say Kirwan was last seen wearing a blue and black shirt and flat, black shoes. She is roughly five-foot-one inches tall and weights around 130 pounds. Kirwan has brown hair, hazel eyes and two tattoos – a dragonfly on her back, and a star on her right foot.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts has been asked to call New Glasgow Police or Crime Stoppers.

http://atlantic.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111012/kirwan_search_teams_111012/20111012/?hub=AtlanticHome

Halifax Regional Police

Amber Kirwan has been missing since 1:30 a.m. on October 9. She was last seen leaving Dooley's Bar in New Glasgow. If you have any information, please contact New Glasgow Police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Please share this poster.



http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150317349505047&set=a.10150151612025047.281690.90564450046&type=1&ref=nf

UPDATE - Friday, Oct. 14, 4:20 p.m. - A $5,000 reward has been put up by friends of the Kirwan family who want to see the 19-year-old Pictou County come home.

Sherry Blinkhorn, owner of Blinkhorn Real Estate, said she decided Thursday evening that a reward would be effective in leading to information about Amber Kirwan's whearabouts. She said she posted the idea on Facebook and within 45 minutes $5,000 was raised.

After speaking with a lawyer and bank today, Blinkhorn decided to cap the reward a $5,000 and it will go to person who leads police directly to Kirwan's whereabouts. She said all information should go directly to the police or Crimestoppers.

Meanwhile, the police are continuing their investigation with no new rewards to report at this time.


UPDATE - Friday, Oct. 14, 9:00 a.m. - The family of missing county teen Amber Kirwan pleaded for people not to give up on their daughter.

A statement, released via Facebook from her parents, Marj and Donnie, and brother, Liam, says, "Our family appreciates all of the community support and the efforts of the police and others involved in the search for Amber. Please, do NOT give up on Amber. Keep her in your thoughts, your prayers and conversations. Every poster hung and Facebook posting with her picture keeps her face out there. She is our sweet little girl, and all we want is for our baby to return to us safe and sound."

Kirwan, 19, went missing early Sunday morning when she left Dooly’s to walk to Big Al’s, where she was supposed to meet with her boyfriend. She never arrived.

Const. Ken MacDonald said that there were no new developments in the missing persons case overnight.

Read more

Search for Amber Kirwan continues
October 16, 2011

The search for 19-year-old Amber Kirwan continued Sunday in Pictou County.


The search for Amber Kirwan was centred in Lyons Brook Sunday. Michael Dick/CBC

A team of about 30 Pictou search and rescue volunteers searched a wooded area on Heathbell Road in Lyons Brook.



The New Glasgow woman disappeared a week ago after leaving Dooly's pool hall to meet her boyfriend.

In a press release, New Glasgow police said "items of interest" had been found and were being examined by forensic services.

Kirwan is five foot one inch tall, weighs approximately 130 pounds and has a dragonfly tattoo on her back and a star on her right foot.

She was last seen wearing black leggings, a black and blue long-sleeved shirt and black ballet flats.

There are more than 10 Facebook group pages dedicated to the missing woman.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/10/15/ns-amber-kirwan.html

October 17, 2011 - PICTOU LANDING – Ground Search and Rescue teams from outside the county joined in the search for missing teen Amber Kirwan Monday, with the search focusing on the wooded area near her home.

Kirwan lived with her boyfriend, Mason Campbell, in Pictou Landing before her Oct. 9 disappearance.


Members of the Pugwash Volunteer Ground Search and Rescue team go over maps
as they prepare to begin a search in the Pictou Landing area for missing girl Amber Kirwan Monday.

On Monday, search teams from outside the region – Halifax, Colchester and Springhill – joined Pictou County Ground Search and Rescue to comb through the wooded areas near the Big Gut bridge. A total of 65 searchers, including the RCMP and New Glasgow Police, participated in the effort.

“The Search and Rescue teams are out past the Big Gut bridge, they’re finishing up the area they were in (Sunday),” said Const. Ken MacDonald with New Glasgow Police.

Neon-coloured ribbons, to signify search areas, were tied to the trees and searchers indicated they believed the search would take all day. A command centre was set up on Hidden Cove Road, near the bridge.

MacDonald confirmed Monday that the search of a second area this weekend, in the Heathbell area, was now complete.

MacDonald says there’s “not much I can divulge” about the outcome of the search in Heathbell.

He also added that the search in the Hillside/Pictou Landing area wrapped up around supper time as it grew darker. It’s not yet known if searchers will return to that area again tomorrow.

Police are still urging people not to draw any conclusions when they notice police conducting searches throughout Pictou County.

MacDonald said that because the searches are in a wooded area, it requires additional people and specialized search efforts.

The investigation is now an integrated effort between New Glasgow Police and the RCMP, he added.

Monday’s police investigation also focused on following up on tips and information and collecting possible items of interest provided by the public. During the searches throughout the week since Kirwan’s disappearance, items of interest have been located and are being processed by forensic services to determine their evidentiary value.

“It may be something you feel is small, but to the investigators, it might have a big value,” said MacDonald. “We still classify this case as a missing person’s investigation – we’re not just interested in knowing who did what, but also receiving any reports to any suspicious activity someone may have noticed.”

Investigators from the New Glasgow Police Service and Royal Canadian Mounted Police continue to investigate and ask for the public assistance with information about her whereabouts to contact Police or Crime Stoppers anonymously anytime at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by Secure Web Tips at www.crimestoppers.ns.

MacDonald adds that while rewards have been offered by the public for information into Kirwan’s disappearance, it’s important that all information be given to police first and foremost.

“Having this reward isn’t a hindrance, but it’s important that all information go to the New Glasgow Police Services, RCMP or Crime Stoppers first,” he said, adding that information can be given to Crime Stoppers anonymously and it’s possible to receive a reward from that organization as well.

MacDonald says the department is not yet keeping a tally of the amount of funds and resources being used in the search for Kirwan.

“We don’t put a price on anything right now, our main focus is the search for the missing 19-year-old girl, Amber Kirwan, and until we find her, all of our resources will be used,” MacDonald said. “That’s the resources of New Glasgow Police Services, the RCMP, the RCMP air service, DNR, New Glasgow Fire Department, the RCMP Forensic Unit and the RCMP Major Crime Unit. Just because you don’t see officers searching on the ground doesn’t mean we’re not working on this case.”

Other media outlets have reported that the car Kirwan’s boyfriend was driving the night she went missing had been seized with a search warrant. However, police are not confirming that at this time.

http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2011-10-17/article-2779797/Ground-search-and-rescue-teams-comb-woods-in-case-of-missing-teen/1

Police seize car belonging to Kirwan's boyfriend
October 17, 2011


Police have seized the car owned by Mason Campbell. (CBC)

A car owned by the boyfriend of a missing New Glasgow woman was seized by police Sunday evening, CBC News has learned.

Mason Campbell was stopped by police who used a warrant to seize his vehicle.

Amber Kirwan, 19, has been missing since Thanksgiving Sunday. She was last seen around 1:30 a.m. leaving Dooly's pool hall. She was on her way to meet Campbell at a nearby convenience store. He said that she never arrived.

On Monday, ground and rescue searchers were just 100 metres from the house where Kirwan and Campbell rented an apartment in Pictou Landing, just outside New Glasgow.

Police would not say what they were looking for, only that search sites are chosen because of information they have received.

"We're receiving numerous tips from the general public and that information is being investigated by both investigators and forensic teams," New Glasgow Police Const. Ken MacDonald said.

Meanwhile the makeshift Wall of Hope, located across the road from the club where Kirwan was last seen, is continuing to grow. It's part of the effort to make sure people don't forget her.


Thousands of posters are being distributed in
the effort to find Amber Kirwan. (CBC)

Thousands of posters have been distributed and ribbons made up to be sold to support the campaign to find Kirwan.

"The awareness is the biggest part and the more donations we have to put money into finding Amber and the more awareness that people know about it, the more it helps," said volunteer Emma Fredericks.

Maria Leil-Bowser, who organized the poster campaign, said she believes Kirwan was abducted.

"In my heart, I believe somebody has her and I'm hoping that by us doing this and keeping the posters out —going world-wide now — that whoever has her, will let her go," she said.

A reward of $5,000 has been offered for information leading to Kirwan's safe return.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/10/17/ns-amber-kirwan-boyfriend-car.html

Police caution people to beware of rumours in case of missing teen
October 17, 2011

Facebook has been both a blessing and a curse in the disappearance of local teen Amber Kirwan.

While the social media site got the word out quickly that the 19-year-old had not been seen since she left Dooly’s at 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 9, it’s also been a hotbed for rumours about what happened to Kirwan.

That’s prompted New Glasgow Police to issue a caution to county residents: don’t believe everything you read.

Police won’t be updating the public via social media, says Const. Ken MacDonald.

“One of the biggest reasons why we’re releasing press releases is because it’s the best way to make sure the most correct and accurate information is getting out to the public, and we do that via the media,” he said. “Our biggest concern is the wrong information getting out there.”

Wild rumours began circulating over the weekend as county residents began noticing increased police activity in areas being searched. There have also been rumours about what may or may not have happened the night Kirwan disappeared.

“If the wrong information does get out there, folks might begin to feel their neighbourhoods might be unsafe, and that’s not the case,” MacDonald said.

He urged people to check their sources before believing rumours.

“If it comes from the police, it’s reputable in origin,” he said. “But you can relate stuff on Facebook where you don’t know the origin of the information, you have to check where it’s coming from before you believe it.”

Some people have heard those rumours and taken them as facts and have contacted police with tips about them, MacDonald said.

“Rumours are flying everywhere, but I’d urge people to wait for the information to come out through the paper,” he said. “We’ve had people contact us about these rumours and we’ve referred them to our latest press release.”

That’s not to say police don’t want tips from the public – quite the opposite, MacDonald said, and so far, the tips have been coming in fast and furious.

“Tips and information is the best way to solve a case,” he said. “They’re coming in steady, we have a steady influx of tips and they’re very valuable. The public has been a tremendous help and assistance in this case.”

http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2011-10-17/article-2779800/Police-caution-people-to-beware-of-rumours-in-case-of-missing-teen/1

RCMP continue search for Amber Kirwan in Pictou Landing area
October 19, 2011



PICTOU LANDING – The RCMP Underwater Recovery Team will be back in the Pictou Landing area today, says New Glasgow Police Const. Ken MacDonald.

Police have been searching for missing 19-year-old, Amber Kirwan, who disappeared on Oct. 9th.

No ground search and rescue is anticipated today, he added.

The divers have been on the scene for most of the week.

“The reason for it is that this is one of the areas we’re searching as part of the investigation,” MacDonald said. “This area involves water and, because ground search doesn’t go into waterways and there are waterways, tributaries and streams in the area, we have to get the RCMP dive team in.”

http://www.trurodaily.com/News/Local/2011-10-19/article-2780855/RCMP-continue-search-for-Amber-Kirwan-in-Pictou-Landing-area/1

Police release picture and video of missing teen Amber Kirwan
October 21, 2011


Missing teen Amber Kirwan is seen outside Dooly's bar
in New Glasgow around 12:50 a.m. October 9th.

Police have released a video and photo of Amber Kirwan leaving Dooly's bar in New Glasgow the night she disappeared.

The grainy video from October 9th is from a surveillance camera outside the bar.

It shows Amber walking away from the bar alone between 1:30am and 1:45am.

There is a large group of people outside of the bar and a police car can be seen in the background.

Constable Ken MacDonald says police released the picture and video to bring in more tips from people who might have information on Amber's disappearance.

Searches have been conducted in New Glasgow, Trenton and the Hillside area, while rescue boats have combed the East River.

Watch the surveillance video from outside of Dooly's



http://www.news957.com/news/local/article/291000--police-release-picture-and-video-of-missing-teen-amber-kirwan

Police conducting door-to-door search for information on Kirwan
October 22, 2011


Surveillance video

Update - 3:45 p.m. - Oct. 22

NEW GLASGOW - Police say more tips have been coming in since a surveillance video was released Friday that shows missing teen Amber Kirwan leaving Dooly's two weeks ago.

Kirwan, 19, has not been seen since that night.

Although no ground search and rescue crews were called out Saturday, it's hoped the door-to-door search will prompt further tips.

“We’re asking people if they may have seen anything and handing out information,” MacDonald said of the search. “Our investigators are going around town, it’s called neighbourhood canvassing.”

Anyone with tips into Kirwan's disappearance is asked to call police or Crimestoppers.

––––––––––––––––––

UPDATED 11:25 a.m. Oct. 22 – The search for missing teenager Amber Kerwan is intensifying today.

New Glasgow Police are going door-to-door in the north end of the town as well as locations throughout Pictou County asking if anyone has saw anything suspicious the night Kirwan,19, disappeared on Oct. 9.

As well, a helicopter is doing air searches throughout the county.

Const. Ken MacDonald says this is just a way to attempt to get more information about Kirwan, who has not been heard from since she left Dooly's at 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 9.



New Glasgow Police release video from the surveillance camera at Dooly’s at the time Amber Kirwan went missing. The video shows Kirwan leaving the night club, then speaking with a group of friends before turning and heading along Archimedes towards Big Al’s. In the video, Kirwan can be seen crossing George Street and then fading from the view of the camera.


http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2011-10-21/article-2783615/Police-conducting-doortodoor-search-for-information-on-Kirwan/1

UPDATED Monday, Oct. 24, 9:23 a.m. – Const. Ken MacDonald of the New Glasgow Police Service said police will have their briefings today to determine their next course of action, but he doesn't know if any new searches will be planned for today.

------

NEW GLASGOW - A police car, stopped at the lights beside Dooly's as Amber Kirwan walked away from the bar on Oct. 9, didn't notice anything suspicious.

Const. Ken MacDonald confirmed Saturday that a white vehicle seen in the surveillance video from Dooly's released last week was a New Glasgow Police cruiser.

"It's not an uncommon sight, the police are always up and down that area on Saturday nights, but they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary," MacDonald said.

In the video, Kirwan can be seen leaving a group of friends in front of Dooly's and crossing the intersection of George and Archimedes, before walking out of the frame.

That night, MacDonald said, the police vehicle followed the same path through the lights, but looped back on Provost Street. Kirwan was headed towards Big Al's, where she was supposed to meet her boyfriend. She never showed up.

The next day, a search for Kirwan - who is still considered a missing person by police - was launched after family reported her missing.

Read more

Owner of Big Al's says Kirwan doesn't appear on video
October 24, 2011

The search for a missing Pictou County teen has entered its third week, and New Glasgow Police say the release of surveillance video which shows her on the night she disappeared has generated some new leads.

Police released video on Friday that shows Amber Kirwan leaving Dooly's pool hall in New Glasgow around 1:30 a.m. on October 9.

In the video, Kirwan is seen outside the building. She then makes her way up Archimedes Street, crosses George Street, and disappears from view. It is believed she was heading to Big Al's, a convenience store located close to Dooly's.


Police have released this photo, which shows Amber Kirwan talking on a cell phone
outside of Dooly's pool hall in New Glasgow. She disappeared shortly after.

Kirwan's boyfriend, Mason Campbell, says she was supposed to meet him at Big Al's but she never showed up.

CTV News spoke with storeowner Al Sutherland on Monday and he says there are three video cameras outside the store, located just a little over 200 metres from Dooly's.

He says his store closed at 11 p.m. the night Kirwan disappeared, but the cameras were still rolling. However, Kirwan doesn't appear on any of the videos from that night.

"The only thing we've seen on the camera is the boyfriend's car where he was in our parking lot," says Sutherland. "He was here for approximately one minute and forty seconds. And then he left."

"There was no sign of her at all on the camera. None whatsoever."

In the video taken from Dooly's, a white vehicle is seen on the left side of the road. It drives up and then stops just outside Dooly's. It turns out the vehicle is a police car and it stopped alongside the road just as Kirwan left the pool hall, walked up the street and disappeared from view.

"It is not an uncommon occurrence to see a police vehicle in the downtown corridor at the early hours in the morning," says Const. Ken MacDonald, a spokesman with New Glasgow Police. "As a result, officers did not notice anything suspicious or out of the ordinary in relation to the case."

But with the distance between the pool hall and Big Al's being roughly 200 metres – or, barely a two-minute walk at a steady pace – what could have happened in the short amount of time it would have taken Kirwan to reach the store?

That's what investigators have been trying to determine since Kirwan vanished.

There is a small wooded area close to Dooly's, and police say they have searched that area thoroughly. They also say releasing the surveillance video from Dooly's has helped their investigation.

"As a result, police received numerous amounts of tips from both Crime Stoppers and to the police service," says MacDonald. "And investigators will continue to investigate those tips and information."

Police are treating Kirwan's disappearance as a missing persons case and they have been searching areas throughout Pictou County since she disappeared.

Ground search and rescue teams from across the province have joined in the search, along with RCMP and K9 units.

Divers combed through the East River and the waters near Big Gut bridge in Pictou Landing, where Kirwan shares an apartment with her boyfriend. Police focused their search in that area last week.

An RCMP helicopter was seen overhead throughout Pictou County on the weekend and police began knocking on doors in the north end of New Glasgow looking for information.

There are also reports that police seized Campbell's car, although police have not confirmed that.

"All I can say is that New Glasgow Police and RCMP investigators are not releasing any information at this time," MacDonald told CTV last week.

Macdonald, however, did not deny the report that the car had been seized.

Campbell has been actively involved in the ongoing search for Kirwan, but has also admitted he's been questioned by police.

In an interview with CTV News, he acknowledged there were rumours circulating in the community that he may have had a hand in her disappearance.

"That's the last thing I want to hear going around. That doesn't help any bit of this situation," he said.

"You know, I loved her with all my heart. I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. When she is turned up, I will spend every single day of my life with her."

Thousands of posters appealing to the public for information on Kirwan's disappearance have been made and posted around the province, and a $5,000 reward is being offered for her safe return.

Several Facebook pages have also been set up, including one with more than 7,800 people.

A ‘Wall of Hope' near the pool hall where Kirwan was last seen also continues to grow, and several events have been held in Pictou County to raise awareness about her disappearance.


http://atlantic.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111024/big_als_111024/20111024/?hub=AtlanticHome