HEATHBELL, N.S. - The family of Amber Kirwan says their "worst fears were realized" when the body of the 19-year-old woman was found by police on the weekend on rural property not far from her home.
"Our beloved Amber will not be coming home," the family of the pretty New Glasgow, N.S., woman said in a statement to media Sunday.
"Words cannot express the sorrow and sense of loss we feel. ... Amber was an amazing daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, girlfriend and friend. We cannot imagine life without her."
Police acting on a search warrant Saturday found Kirwan's body on a rural Pictou County property about a 30-minute drive from where she was last seen almost a month ago.
RCMP Const. Bill Rudolph declined comment Sunday on a report that investigators were acting on a tip when they applied for the warrant to search the property in the small community of Heathbell.
"As a result of that search human remains were located and those remains were transported to the medical examiner's office in Halifax," he said.
Rudolph said an autopsy had yet to be done "but we are confirming this is being investigated as a homicide."
He declined to say if Kirwan's body was buried on the property or found in the open.
Kirwan disappeared on Oct. 9 after leaving a pool hall in New Glasgow at 1:30 a.m. following a night out with friends. Friends have said she had planned to walk to a corner store to meet her boyfriend, but she never showed up.
Rudolph said the body was found in the general area of an extensive search earlier in the investigation.
The wooded property where the woman's remains were found is near the intersection of Heathbell Road and Hardwood Hill Road, about 150 kilometres north of Halifax.
Rudolph said the disappearance and now death of the woman has been difficult on everyone in the community and beyond.
"There's been calls from many places across Canada and I know there's been interest from other countries," he said. "When there is tragic news like this, it affects everyone.
"To a greater or lesser degree, everyone is touched."
Residents of New Glasgow have for weeks left candles, cards and posters at a wall near the pool hall where Kirwan was last seen. They returned to the site Sunday after her death was confirmed.
New Glasgow Mayor Barrie MacMillan issued a statement expressing the town's grief.
"Our community is absolutely devastated and heartbroken with this terrible news," he said. "We had all hoped and prayed for Amber's safe return.
"There is no greater loss than a parent losing a child. Pictou County has lost a bright light long before her time. We are in mourning as a community and it is a time of great sorrow."
