Police: Remains found believed to be missing Butler County native
The remains of Darlene Harbison, a missing Butler County native, were believed to be found Monday in Armstrong County, according to police.
Allegheny County police said in a release that a hunter observed a motorcycle over a hillside along Nichola Road in West Franklin Township, Armstrong County. State police in Kittanning said the license plate number was found to be registered to Harbison.
Upon investigation, human remains were located near the motorcycle.
Harbison, 59, was reported missing in September from her home in Frazer Township, Allegheny County, after returning home from a camping trip. She last was seen Sept. 11, according to family members.
Harbison’s mother, Charlotte Ruediger, of Herman, said she was contacted about the remains believed to be her daughter’s around 11 a.m. Monday.
“All I did was cry with relief,” she said.
A formal homicide investigation was initiated by Allegheny County detectives after an initial welfare check on Harbison by Frazer Township police on Sept. 11 raised concern.
According to Terry Kuhns, chief of Frazer Township police, Harbison’s boyfriend, Eric Gibbs, 57, was considered a suspect in her disappearance. He was found dead by apparent suicide on Sept. 17 in West Deer Township.
Ruediger said that as police began to investigate her daughter’s disappearance, they told her that Harbison’s remains might be found at the scene of what could appear to be a motorcycle crash, since her Suzuki motorcycle was missing.
“The police had told us they thought that he staged a motorcycle crash to take the pressure off him, that he would have thrown her over a hill and the motorcycle also,” she said.
Ruediger said police told her a hunter was likely to find her daughter.
“Thank God it was someone who had their head about them,” she said. “He must have seen fliers and stuff.”
Ruediger and other family members organized search parties for Harbison in October and November. Nearly 100 people showed up for each 5-mile radius search conducted near Harbison’s home and near the Cabot American Legion post.
“At a function the other day, some woman came up to me and said, ‘I know you don’t know me, but I’ve been praying for you.’ The people are phenomenal,” she said.
According to previous reports, due to the forensic evidence police found at the scene of Gibbs’ apparent suicide and in a car he used, Ruediger had no hope of her daughter being found alive.
“It’s just unreal,” Ruediger said. “It seems we’ve been waiting a lifetime; it’s been almost three months.”
The remains found Monday will be formally identified by the Allegheny County medical examiner.
