RCMP on Vancouver Island say they have identified suspects in the murder of Kimberly Proctor, the teenager whose badly burned body was discovered in a wooded ravine near Colwood, B.C., in March.
Cpl. Darren Lagan of the Island District RCMP said Thursday they believe Proctor's death was not random.
"We are sharing this limited information on our progress in identifying suspects, in hopes of providing the community with some answers to the many questions and fears they have surrounding Kimberly's murder," he said.
Investigators executed a search warrant at a bungalow on Happy Valley Road in Langford, B.C., late Wednesday evening. Gloved forensic team members in white hazard suits could be seen at the residence hauling away items in a rental truck well into the night and again in the morning.
Lagan said the search is only one small component of the investigation and any evidence recovered at the scene will not be made public.
The home's residents left when police arrived to search but no arrests were made. Police say it is the home -- not the people inside -- that are the focus of the warrant.
Teams from the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU), the RCMP ‘E' Division Serious Crime Unit, the West Shore RCMP, and a myriad of other specialized support sections and agencies have spent thousands of man hours investigating leads into the teen's death since her body was found March 19 on the Galloping Goose Trail, a popular hiking spot linking Victoria and Sooke.
Investigators believe there are people in the community who know the suspects and what happened to the teen before her death – and are asking those people to come forward.
They know who they are, and now is the time to support our team, and help solve Kimberly's brutal murder," Lagan said,
"There are many reasons people are reluctant for people to talk to the police. But we need those people to think of Kimberly's family, her mother and father. They deserve to have all the answers about what happened to her."
Lagan says he is acutely aware of the fear the tiny Island communities have felt since Proctor's brutal murder.
"We understand. We live here. We hear the exact same things and in some cases our families have the same fears," he said.
He says investigators from Vancouver and Vancouver Island have been working around the clock to uncover evidence and further the case.
"There are investigators here from the Lower Mainland that haven't seen their families for any length of time for going on 10 weeks," he said. "They're working 24 hours a day."
Police previously told CTV they were investigating comments that Proctor made online in the months before she was killed.
Days before her murder, she posted on Facebook about a "psycho" ex-boyfriend with "really bad anger issues."
She also posted messages on a website called Vampire Freaks, revealing that she had been bullied by other teenage girls.
Investigators say they are not releasing the age or identify of the suspects in order to protect the integrity of the case.
"There is a big difference between identifying suspects and enough sufficient evidence to produce and an arrest and bring those people to the courts," Lagan said.
"We are still in that in-between stage at this point."
Lagan says Proctor's family, friends and members of the community have been extremely helpful in the investigation.
