Lighting up the night for Cortney Lake

People clutching cups of hot chocolate gathered round a tree draped with bright purple lights Thursday, talking, huggingand singing along with carols.

But this was a different sort of Christmas celebration.

• Cortney Lake's family to mark her favourite time of year with Christmas tree lighting

The family of Cortney Lake were honouring her memory with the special tree lighting and gathering.

Purple was Lake's favourite colour.

Lake vanished on June 7 and police have now classified her disappearance as a homicide.

Family,friends and community members many of whom were at Thursday's event atSt. David's Park in Mount Pearl still organize regular searches for her body.

• With days growing shorter, Cortney Lake's family continues to search

"I can't imagine having to go through this ordeal myself, having two young daughters," said Trina Byrne, who wore a Cortney's Search Angels hat.

Byrne has been helping with the searches almost since they began and says she'll keep helping until the weather shuts them down for the winter.

She says she does it because she wants to support Lake's family.

"Just to stand behind them and tokeep supporting them and showing them that we're not going togive up, and that we're going to find Cortney."

"They need the closure, they need to find Cortney. Cortney deserves to have a good resting place where they can visit her and remember her for the person that she was."