Great Falls, Mont. — An Alberta alderman visiting Great Falls may have gone cycling on the day she disappeared, say Montana police.
Lieutenant Ron Steffens said Great Falls police are treating the disappearance of Darlene (Dar) Heatherington Saturday as suspicious, but have found no evidence of foul play.
Lieut. Steffens said the 39-year-old mother of three, who was visiting the Montana city with Lethbridge council colleagues, purchased a women's mountain bike from a pawn shop Saturday morning and told employees that she planned to go cycling.
Her husband, Dave Heatherington, Lethbridge's deputy fire chief, reported her missing just after midnight Saturday when she failed to return home.
"Obviously it is suspicious," Lieut. Steffens said. "Anytime you have an adult female who hasn't made contact with her husband and family — and she probably should have by this time — you can obviously say it is suspicious."
Police aren't ready to call it foul play because Ms. Heatherington could have had an accident on the bike or intentionally disappeared.
"Have we determined where this investigation will go? Definitely not. All those issue are still being investigated," Lieut. Steffens said.
Police have determined that at 9 a.m. Saturday, Ms. Heatherington called her husband to advise him that she would be a little late coming home and that she would miss her daughter's piano recital.
Around 10 a.m., she left a telephone message for a Great Falls commissioner cancelling an appointment they had set up for that day, he said.
Ms. Heatherington made a couple of small purchases at a local variety store around 10:45 a.m. and sometime before 11 a.m. she purchased the bike.
"We also know when she made that purchase . . . she spoke about using the bike to ride around town and she was going to leave the car at — I believe her words were — the town hall," Lieut. Steffens said.
Great Falls city manager John Lawton discovered Ms. Heatherington's car parked at the civic centre when he went into work Sunday afternoon.
Aware a search was underway for Ms. Heatherington and the red rental car she had driven to Montana from Lethbridge, he immediately called police.
Police found Ms. Heatherington's keys under the car and her purse and some of her clothing and other articles inside the vehicle.
Lieut. Steffens said the keys may have been left under the car because Ms. Heatherington may not have wanted to carry them while cycling around town.
Mr. Lawton said Ms. Heatherington's disappearance has stunned city commissioners and staff.
"Certainly the city and its police force are devoting all possible efforts to resolve this," he said. "We have all our available personnel working on it."
Mr. Lawton said he met Ms. Heatherington only briefly at two dinner meetings last week.
"She certainly creates a very favourable impression," he said. "She seemed to be outgoing and very interested in her council work and in her community."
