New surveillance video of missing woman Florence Leung rekindles hope for family

Video footage from a store in downtown Vancouver shows Florence Leung the evening of the day she went missing buying items her family says were later found in her abandoned vehicle in Stanley Park.

While it's not much, her husband and sister-in-law are hoping the discovery will turn up more footage of her whereabouts before the New Westminster woman went missing on Oct. 25, 2016.

"Oh, such mixed feelings, you know?" said Jennifer Chen, the sister of Leung's husband, Kim Chen.

"I was so happy that we found her footage and that she actually did go outside of Stanley Park and maybe she was walking around downtown."

• Police, North Shore Rescue search for missing Florence Leung in Stanley Park

Chen says the footage was discovered after a volunteer helping in the search for the 32-year-old went knocking on local businesses asking if a Leung had been there buying Gatorade and a banana.

The two items were found in her vehicle, an Audi Q5, when it was discovered in Stanley Park on Oct. 26. Chen says the banana was uneaten and the drink was nearly full.

"The surveillance footage is a clue that we want people to have in terms of her current state and that she may be scared and not know how to ask for help," she said. 

"But we also want people to know that she's much more than that."

Investigators with the New Westminster Police Major Crime unit have a copy of the video and have reviewed it closely, while they keep looking for Leung, said acting sergeant Jeff Scott in a statement.

Chen added that police have said they will send an investigator to speak to the owners of the store on Monday.

Leung's family says she had been suffering from anxiety since she gave birth to her son two months ago.

'We are coping'

New Westminster police said she is considered a high-risk missing person because she may be experiencing postpartum depression.​ 

Leung is described as:

• 5' 6" inches tall.
• A slim build, long black hair and black eyes.
• Last seen wearing black leggings, a black coat and a grey shirt.

Chen says Leung is not only a wife and mother, but a nurse, a nursing home inspector and an accomplished photographer whose fashion work has been published in Vogue Italia.

"We are coping," she said. "Trying to cope and it's a very difficult time for all of us."