Family of Missing Frazer Township Woman Asks Community for Search Help

FRAZER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — A family is asking the community for help as they desperately search for Darlene Harbison, a woman who has been missing for nearly a month.

Harbison, 59, of Frazer Township disappeared on September 11. Her family said they need all the help they can get to navigate the woods and roadsides near their home.

“Anyone who wants to help us, please come help us find my sister,” said Robert Ruediger Jr., Darlene Harbison’s brother.

Ruediger said her family has not been able to reach Harbison since returning home to Frazer Township from a trip to Ohio. He said he would never want a family to go through what his family is going through right now.

“We want to find the answers, we want to accomplish everything and then put her body to rest. We know she’s in a better place than us right now,” Ruediger said.

Allegheny County Police detectives believe Eric Gibbs, 57, is responsible for Harbison’s disappearance. Gibbs was found dead of an apparent suicide in the woods on Logan Road in West Deer Township on September 17. Police said they learned Harbison was in a “volatile relationship” with Gibbs.

“The hardest part is not knowing, not knowing what happened, not knowing where she is,” Ruediger said.

Ruediger said everything her sister does is for her children and grandchildren.

“They were her life, that’s what she lived for. And if we could find her and put her to rest, that would help those children’s lives as well,” he said.

On Saturday morning, community members are invited to join a search party. They will meet at Walter Chapel United Methodist Church on Crawford Run Road in Cheswick at 10 a.m. The church is not far from Harrison’s home in Frazer Township.

“I was shocked because it’s so close to my house and I was also shocked because I hadn’t heard of it until his brother came to church on Thursday,” said Linda Hobaugh.

One of the church’s parishioners, Linda Hobaugh, knew she had to do something after Ruediger walked into the church a few days ago looking for clues and help.

“We need the community to come together with this church and this family to come and help in this feast of seeking and praying,” Hobaugh said.

Hobaugh is doing all she can to help. She plans to be in the field searching Saturday morning and is asking others to volunteer to comb the roadsides, wooded areas, ravines and hillsides.

“There’s a lot of woods and a lot of ground to cover, which is why we need as many people as possible to come out and help this family,” Hobaugh said.

County police said investigators, local firefighters, the Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group and Steel City K-9 Response have already conducted several searches in the area.

The Allegheny County Police Department shared photos of what is believed to be Gibb’s Chevy Cobalt and F-150.

Ruediger asks people to keep an eye out for Harbison’s motorcycle, a black Suzuki KW-250, which has not been found, and any other clues that might give their family answers.

“My mother is a wreck, the girls are beside themselves. If we could find her, I would be very grateful. Please keep your eyes peeled,” Ruediger said.

The Allegheny County Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance and is asking anyone who saw Harbison, Gibbs or the vehicles between Sept. 10 and 13 to call 1-833-255-8477.