Charlottetown police interview 'person of interest' in Summer Kneebone case

Charlottetown police have identified and interviewed a person who may have been the last to see Summer Kneebone before the P.E.I. woman went missing on Aug. 7.

Kneebone, 27, was in a vehicle with the man between 7 and 8 p.m. in Charlottetown on the night she was last seen, according to his statement to police. He is not being named at this time.

Thatcar is different from the black or dark blue Acura MDX she was seen in earlier that evening, and police are now no longer interested in tracing that vehicle.

"I would suggest that now the Acura is out of play," said Charlottetown Police Det.-Sgt. Darren MacDougall.

"Timing-wise, this would be her last known whereabouts," he said of the newest known encounter, adding thatpolice are following up on information the man provided during his interviewto verify his credibility.

MacDougall said the man was "co-operative" during his interview, telling police he picked up Kneebone "and they subsequently drove around for a period of time. Of course, at this point this hasn't been confirmed."

He said the manis being considered a "person of interest," but as of now, not a suspect.

"He's somebody we want to glean more information from," MacDougall said. "He is a focus of ours right now in regard to who he might have been with before, after, where he may have gone before, after. All the things that he told us, we're going to circle back and verify or identify that there's some some holes perhaps, let's say, in the things that he told us."

• Get the news you need without restrictions. Download ourfree CBC News App.

Police are now looking into the areas where the man said he and Kneebone spent time. They continue to askhomeowners and businesses to preserve any surveillance video they have from the evening of Aug. 7.

MacDougall said while police continue to search for Kneebone, it is not currently considered a criminal investigation.

I just want to thank the family, because they've been a big part of this investigation even though they are going through what they're going through. Det.-Sgt. Darren MacDougall

"We still haven't obtained any evidence to support that a crime has been committed and therefore we haven't elevated it to a criminal investigation It is still a missing person investigation."

Dozens of people, organized by the Native Council of P.E.I., searched the area of Mount Stewart on Tuesday.

The effort didn't provide any clues, but MacDougall said it was helpful to keep Kneebone's disappearance on the minds of the public.

He added: "I just want to thank the family, because they've been a big part of this investigation even though they are going through what they're going through."