As Cape Breton Regional Police wait for a break in their murder investigation, family and friends of Laura Jessome have said their final goodbyes to the young murder victim.

Many residents in Little Bras d'Or, N.S. packed into their community church today to pay final respects to the 21-year-old, whose remains were found in a hockey bag, floating on the Mira River last Friday.

"She had lots of life, people described her as vivacious," said Father Peter McLeod. "One of the first things many family members said to me is that she would light up a room."

While people paused today to mourn their loss, Jessome's killer, or killers, are still at large.

Police have been working day and night to find her killer since her body was found last week. Investigators have finished scouring the Mira River for clues, but no charges have been laid in the case.

"We have been interviewing several people, questioning people, but there have been no arrests made to this point," says Staff Sgt. Mike Kennedy.

Jessome's personal struggles have been discussed publicly since her death. Family members admit she fell in with the wrong crowd and spent time with people who had trouble with the law and drugs.

However, when delivering her eulogy, McLeod reminded the congregation that Jessome should be remembered for her many good qualities.

"She was a trusting individual. That's the way she was presented. That's the way she really revealed herself to family and friends, and perhaps that's one of the ways we can be taken advantage of," says McLeod. "But the other side of that, of course, is that to be a trusting person really is of...value too, to give people the benefit of the doubt. It's unfortunate that we do have dark elements in society that can take advantage of that."

McLeod admits it can be difficult to find comfort in a tragedy like this one, but he is urging Jessome's friends and family to keep hope and faith.

Meanwhile, police say they are not giving up on the case and are receiving plenty of tips from the public.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Randy MacDonald