Debbie Harbowy has been deprived of burying her daughter Rebecca, who went missing two years ago, but the Maple Ridge mom still hopes her remains can be found.
The subject of a lengthy missing persons case, Rebecca Harbowy was considered deceased when partial remains were discovered by a hiker, in a wooded area of Maple Ridge, in May of 2025.
But her mother has continued searching for her remains.
“I’d like to lay my daughter’s bones to rest,” she said.
The man who discovered a bone from the missing woman’s face, and reported it to police, was a family friend.
He took Debbie to the place where he found it, just off a trail near the corner 112th and 113th Avenues.
There is a steep, heavily wooded ravine, and Kanaka Creek can be heard rushing nearby. The Kanaka Creek Bridge is nearby.
She wants people visiting the area, walking their dogs or fishing, to be aware that Rebecca’s remains might be there, or close by. Debbie plans to put up signs, to make people aware.
She also believes finding the remains could offer clues about what happened to Rebecca.
“I don’t think my daughter took her own life. I think somebody else took it.”
Somebody knows something, she said.
Debbie visits the place, and leaves her walking stick leaning against a tree at the trailhead.
At the place, not far from the road, she has created a memorial to her daughter, with a photo on a tree. There are flowers she laid there at Christmas. On a visit on Monday, Jan. 19, she brought stuffed kittens an unknown donor left under a missing persons sign at the 7-Eleven at the corner of Lougheed Highway and Haney Bypass.
“Rebecca loved cats,” she said, as she arranged the stuffies so they looked out at someone arriving.
Rebecca was 36 when she left Ridge Meadows Hospital on Nov. 23, 2023. It was 1:20 a.m., and she was not dressed for the cold night.
She had been detoxing from drug use. Her family has been critical of the hospital letting her leave the facility on her own.
The family believes she was walking to her parents’ home where she lived, in the Yennadon area. Rebecca did not have a warm coat, phone, identification, or money. Her family believes she was confused and disoriented. She had not eaten in days, and had been vomiting.
She was last seen walking east on the Haney Bypass at Burnett Street in Maple Ridge at approximately 2:05 a.m.
A driver reported he almost hit a woman walking on Lougheed Highway near 240 Street, at about 3:30 a.m. He came upon her in the fog, and had to swerve to miss her. That is a less certain sighting, said Debbie, but the description of the woman having her hair up in a bun matched.
That’s relatively close to where the remains were found. The area was combed by search teams on the ground, using a drone camera, and with a cadaver dog, but nothing has been found.
“There is no closure. There is no body to lay to rest. There are no answers to that night. There are no tips clues or evidence of what happened,” said the heartbroken mother. “There is no daughter, sister or friend anymore.
“I am urging the public of Maple Ridge not to forget this tragedy of Rebecca.
“Please if you are hiking, dog walking or just leisurely walking thru this forested area of Kanaka Creek be mindful that my daughter Rebecca could also be there.”
Her remains or clothing articles (black puma sweats, gray Nike hoody and Nike runners) could provide evidence, answers and closure.
Police say this continues to be an active investigation, and anyone with information which could help the Ridge Meadows RCMP you are encouraged to call the Ridge Meadows RCMP at 604-463-6251 and refer to File # 2023-23402.
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