Catherine Campbell, slain police officer, remembered at Stellarton funeral

Hundreds of people gathered to honour police officer Catherine Campbell, whose body was found in a wooded area near a Halifax bridge last week, at her funeral in her hometown of Stellarton, N.S., on Monday.

Mourners at the service at the First Presbyterian Church included firefighters and police officers from communities around Nova Scotia.

Many walked in a procession Monday afternoon through the streets of Stellarton in memory of the 36-year-old who was slain sometime  after leaving a bar in downtown Halifax.

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Campbell's aunt, Mandy Wong, addressed the service, saying that once Campbell set a goal, she accomplished it.

"Catherine was brave and beautiful and sweet and strong. She will be forever loved and never forgotten," said Wong.

She said Campbell was an adventurous child. As an eight-year-old, Campbell tried to set up her own ice cream cart by phoning an ice cream company. Her parents had no idea she did this.

Wong said Campbell loved making a difference in the community and talking to children.

Garry Thibedeau, a retired police officer with the Truro police force who worked with Campbell, told CBC News that Campbell was very caring.

"She also knew when it was time to be the stronger person to do the enforcement," he said, while fighting back tears.

Campbell was a six-year veteran of the Truro police force who had volunteered as a firefighter for the past 10 years.

Doug Dort, the chief of the New Glasgow Fire Department, worked on some fires with Campbell.

"She was always the one that was right in the middle of the action and really digging and going. She was a good gal," he told CBC News.

Campbell was last seen Sept. 11 and was found dead in Halifax on Wednesday.

Christopher Calvin Garnier, 27, has been charged with second-degree murder and indecently interfering with a dead human body.

Police are still appealing for witnesses in the case. Specifically, they're looking for witnesses who may have seen a white man, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and pushing or pulling a green compost bin from the McCully Street area, up Agricola, North or Barrington streets at around 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 11.

Perrin said they believe the accused was the man pushing the green bin. He said police are not looking for any other suspects.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 902-490-5016. Anonymous tips can go to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).