A missing Port Alberni woman is believed to be dead, and her late boyfriend is a person of interest in the case, RCMP said Wednesday.
Amber Manthorne was last seen on July 7, 2022.
At a Wednesday news conference, police said they hoped releasing the information would advance the investigation, since Manthorne’s boyfriend, Justin Hall, was found dead in Merritt last year, which “has limited our access to possible answers.”
They also released a CCTV video showing Hall with Manthorne’s vehicle at the 3rd Avenue Husky gas station in Port Alberni, hours after she was last seen.
The video shows Hall pulling over in the white 2021 Jeep Compass and taking a suitcase out of the backseat of the vehicle, then attempting to put it in the rear cargo area. It won’t fit due to a bulky bin in that area, so he returns it to the backseat.
Neither the container nor the suitcase has ever been found.
Police are also looking for Manthorne’s cellphone and have released a picture of it, noting that it appears to have a place on the outside shell to carry credit cards.
Hall’s name came up in early reports after Manthorne’s disappearance, which said she might be in his company. Later, however, police said Hall had been located. A message from his email address sent to CHEK News said: “… I did not hurt my girlfriend. I do not know why she isn’t back home.”
Manthorne’s disappearance brought out hundreds of volunteers to search an area just outside the city near her home at Great Central Lake.
The search shifted to the Cassidy area after her vehicle was found there on July 9.
Manthorne’s friend Kristie St. Claire said she has seen the video and spoken to police, and was pleased that police had released more details.
More of the timeline around the time Manthorne disappeared is now known, including what Hall was doing, St. Claire said.
