Last week, Rhonda, who asked that her last name not be published, heard about a newspaper ad asking for information on a missing woman.

Some of the names included in the listing were familiar to the Whitehorse resident — they included her grandparents.

Confused, Rhonda emailed the person who placed the ad – the woman's daughter, Linda Evans – and asked for more information.

Online, she found a Surrey, B.C. RCMP news story.

The photo of the missing Surrey woman was Rhonda's mother.

"I was like, ‘what is Mom doing there? She's not missing.'”

Rhonda, whose family now lives in Whitehorse, called the Surrey RCMP's Missing Persons Unit to tell them that Lucy Johnson, a woman police had considered missing for more than 50 years, was her mother – and was very much alive.

"My sole purpose of doing this was for Linda,” Rhonda said in an interview Tuesday.

"So she would know her mother was alive and not murdered. Everyone has the right to know if their parent is dead or alive.”

The revelation surprised police officers in British Columbia.

"‘Wow' is a word we've been using a lot recently,” Cpl. Bert Paquet, with the Surrey RCMP, said Tuesday.

Lucy Johnson, now 77, was reported missing by her husband, Marvin Johnson, on May 14, 1965.

However, police believe she may have already been missing for years before that. She had last been seen by a neighbour in September 1961.

Earlier this year, the Surrey RCMP's Missing Persons Unit decided to reviving its Missing of the Month series.

Each month, a news release focused on historic missing persons cases "on the slim chance that someone out there knows something,” Paquet said.

Johnson's story was featured in June. It was the first case highlighted in 2013.

That focus by police led Evans to place the ads in the paper which eventually connected the two half-sisters.

As for what led her to leave her family in Surrey, Rhonda said her mother hasn't offered an explanation.

"I don't think it's any of my business,” she said.

Paquet said police have spoken to both Johnson and her family, but there are still some questions requiring answers.

The officer said he suspects Johnson's motivations were "personal,” and doesn't believe the RCMP will ever be releasing them publicly.

Rhonda, who lived in British Columbia most of her life, said she doesn't think her mother was trying to hide from anyone.

The two half-sisters have started to connect over social media.

Johnson, nee Carvell, was born on Oct. 14, 1935 in Skagway, Alaska. She lived around Alaska and finally Carcross, from 1943 and 1953 before moving south.

Lucy married Marvin Johnson in April 1954 and they had two children.

Believing she may have met with foul play, police conducted a thorough investigation into her disappearance.

At one point, police considered Marvin Johnson a person of interest in his wife's death.

"One of the positive things to come out of this is that it cleared his name, and no one will have any questions about whether he hurt or killed Lucy Johnson,” Paquet said.

Marvin Johnson died in the late 1990s.

Paquet said this story shows the importance of continuing to bring attention to missing persons cases even if the file is an old one.

He heaps credit on the Missing Persons Unit, which never considers a case "cold.”

"If I go missing, I feel safe that they will find me some time.”