Missing Vancouver Island woman likely a victim of foul play: RCMP

RCMP say a woman who disappeared from her Vancouver Island community over two years ago was likely the victim of foul play, possibly involving her now-deceased former boyfriend.

Amber Manthorne, 40, went missing from the Port Alberni area on July 7, 2022. Her white 2021 Jeep Compass was found in a treed area at the side of a logging road south of Nanaimo two days later.

On Wednesday, Port Alberni RCMP released a surveillance video of Manthorne's ex-boyfriend, Justin Hall, driving the Jeep to a Port Alberni Husky station on July 8, 2022 at 4:50 a.m. 

Hall is seen moving a large suitcase from the vehicle's rear seats to its hatchback. He struggles to fit the suitcase in because of a large black plastic tote that is in the way, and eventually returns the bag to the rear seats. 

Police say both the plastic tote and suitcase have never been recovered.

"Police believe that Amber's disappearance was as a result of foul play and that she is not likely to be found alive," RCMP spokesperson Const. Beth O'Connor said. 

O'Connor said Hall was questioned by police after Manthorne went missing and is considered a person of interest, but that he was found dead in Merritt last year. That fact has impeded the search for answers. 

According to a timeline released by investigators on Wednesday, Hall made a purchase at the Nanaimo Walmart on July 8, 2022 at 9:22 a.m., about four-and-a-half hours after he was seen at the Husky gas station.

About one hour later, he bought a ferry ticket to the mainland at the Duke Point terminal and joined the car lineup in Manthorne's white Jeep. However, just after 11 a.m., he turned around and drove away from the lineup and terminal.

Manthorne's abandoned Jeep was found not far away the following afternoon.

Hundreds of friends, volunteers and police joined in searches for Manthorne around her home at Great Central Lake, 40 kilometres from Port Alberni, and near where her car was found. 

Friend Kristie St. Claire, organizer of the Finding Amber Manthorne Facebook group, told CBC News she is grateful for the new details and hopes people come forward with anything that may help police find Manthorne.

"There's no such thing as closure for these kinds of things. We're hoping for some peace and we would like to recover her remains ... give her a decent burial and have somewhere for her family to put her to rest," St. Claire said.