Officials confirmed Wednesday the body of a woman found in Armstrong County this week was identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner as Darlene Harbison, a missing Butler County native.

Harbison’s mother, Charlotte Ruediger, of Herman, said on Wednesday that she remembers her daughter as a “bright spot in her life,” and her general reliability as a family member was one of her trademarks.

“She used to pop in here and she was always happy,” Ruediger said. “The fact that she missed her grandkids' football game, is the reason we found out. She always came.”

Allegheny County police said in a news release Monday 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 registered to Harbison.

Upon investigation, her body was 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.

Ruediger was contacted about the discovery around 11 a.m. Monday, and said she cried with relief, which soon turned to grief.

“It's really tough thinking of the loss,” she said. “The funeral is going to be hell on earth, which the last three months were.”

According to her obituary, Harbison was a talented chef who enjoyed fishing, kayaking, motorcycle riding and camping. She was a mother and a grandmother.

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 she would like to help other people avoid the domestic abuse situations that Harbison fell into.

“If older people, parents, tell you you shouldn't be with a person, you should listen,” she said. “If I can just save one more person from all this heartache.”

Ruediger said that as police began to investigate her daughter’s disappearance, they told her that Harbison’s body might be found at the scene of what could appear to be a motorcycle crash, since her Suzuki motorcycle was missing.

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.

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. An official cause of death was unavailable at the time of publication.

“It’s just unreal,” Ruediger said. “It seems we’ve been waiting a lifetime; it’s been almost three months.”

A memorial Mass for Harbison is planned at 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 12, at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 821 Herman Road.