CHRISTCHURCH - Almost three months after the body of Timaru 20-year-old Lisa Blakie was found in a lonely western Canterbury mountain stream, police remain confident her killer will be identified.
"We are making progress and we are moving forward," said Detective Inspector Rob Pope, heading the 38-strong homicide team investigating Ms
Blakie's murder in February.
Ms Blakie vanished on February 2 while hitchhiking from Christchurch to visit friends in Greymouth. Tourists found her fully clothed body in the Porter River, near Castle Hill in northwest Canterbury, four days later.
Police believe she was murdered late on February 5 and say the key to solving the 12-week inquiry is tracing her movements over the three days after her disappearance.
Ms Blakie was last seen at a Springfield garage about 1 pm on February 2 in the company of a solidly built balding man driving a beige-brown car. She had been seen getting into the car at Yaldhurst, on the outskirts of Christchurch, about half an hour earlier after thumbing a ride.
A 30-year-old Darfield man, Timothy Taylor, told police he gave Ms Blakie a lift that day to a rest area near the Kowai No 2 bridge, but denies involvement in her death. Ms Blakie's dog, Kaos, was found near the bridge about 2 pm on the day she went missing.
Homicide inquiries focused on Darfield after police seized a 1982 Mark V Cortina there. Detectives spent a week at a Darfield house and took items for forensic analysis. Mr Pope said the Cortina would remain "a bit longer" in police custody as tests continued.
Police had extended canvassing to Waddington and Sheffield after contacting almost all Darfield and Springfield residents over the past three weeks. They are keen to trace the Cortina's movements between February 2 and February 6.
Mr Pope said police would review progress next week and decide whether to extend their canvassing. "We are trying very, very hard."
- NZPA
