NL

Search complete, but police say no sign of missing woman Jennifer Hillier-Penney

Police ended the water, air and ground search for the missing St. Anthony woman 13 days after she went missing.

No connection in other missing person cases in St. Anthony; no public safety concern, RCMP say

Jennifer Lynn Hillier-Penney's last known location was in the Husky Drive area of St. Anthony on Nov. 30. (RCMP )

The search in St. Anthony for Jennifer Hillier-Penney is now complete, but police say there is still no sign of the missing woman.

Hillier-Penney, 38, was reported missing on Dec. 1. She had been staying at a home where she lived previously with her estranged husband, caring for their teenage daughter while he was away hunting in Northwest Arm.

"The water, air and ground searches are completed for now, but can be resumed as new information is received as the investigation continues," RCMP Cpl. Trevor O'Keefe said in a statement Monday.

Air, ground and water search is now complete in the investigation for missing St. Anthony woman Jennifer Hillier-Penney, RCMP say. (Colleen Connors/CBC)

RCMP deemed the missing person case suspicious last week, as the search of the harbour in St. Anthony continued.

O'Keefe said the case is still open and the investigation continues. A local ground search and rescue team were in an area near the town of St. Anthony on Dec. 11, but there was no sign of Hillier-Penney, he said.

No public safety concern

An intense search of the harbour and nearby bodies of water turned up empty.

Although police called Hillier-Penney's disappearance suspicious, O'Keefe said there "are no public safety concerns at this time."

Jennifer Hillier-Penney had been staying in the family home, caring for her 15-year-old daughter, before her disappearance Nov. 30. (Colleen Connors/CBC)

But people in the community feel there is a dark cloud over St. Anthony. Three other people have gone missing from the Northern Peninsula town since 2002, in cases that remain a mystery.

"The RCMP does not believe that any of these (missing persons cases) are connected," said O'Keefe.

The police would not specify which areas were searched outside the community.

Anyone who knows anything about Hillier-Penney's disappearance is asked to contact the St. Anthony RCMP detachment at 709-454-3543.