Heather Shtuka
“Empowering people to Create connectivity in their communities.”
Heather Shtuka was an ordinary daughter, wife, friend and mother of three beautiful children. In between all these titles, she went to school, played sports, made friends, skinned knees, had first kisses, butterflies, broken hearts, adventures, a career, a wedding and three uneventful but deeply moving births. A perfectly imperfect life, one of her own making. Until February 17, 2018, when she received the notification that her first born and only son, Ryan was missing from Sun Peaks, B.C. She waved goodbye to him only two months earlier as he left on his own to work a seasonal position in the ski resort, 9 ½ hours away, never imagining this would be the last time she would be see him.
With her years’ experience as a Guest Service Manager with a major airline, Heather drew upon her strong background in training and leadership to create a command center to coordinate thousands of volunteers in the search for her son. Using social media platforms, she expanded awareness for Ryan where over 33,000 members converge for information.
In the wake of her son’s disappearance, Heather became a passionate advocate of missing persons. In collaboration with three amazing women, a non-profit that supports families of missing people was founded. The Free Bird Project’s mission is to provide resources, skills, and loving support to families of missing loved ones, giving them the toolset to plan their searches.
After graduating from MacEwan University with a degree in public relations, Heather uses writing as a way to raise awareness for those still waiting to find their way home.