Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough will return home to Nova Scotia tonight (update)

UPDATE: The motorcade is now expected to leave Halifax Stanfield International Airport at around 6:45 p.m.

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The body of  Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough will return home to Nova Scotia tonight.

Members of the 23 year-old's family have confirmed to News 95.7 that a procession will take place down the Highway of Heroes from Halifax Stanfield, past the Navy dockyard and ending at her final resting place.

The procession will be led by military police and the veterans UN NATO group “brigade of motorcycles”.

Cowbrough graduated from Royal Military College in Kingston before being posted in Dartmouth. In an interview with CityNEWS following her death, Brenda Shewchuk remembered her eldest granddaughter as a feisty, smart, vivacious young woman.

Shewchuk said 'she loved food, she loved the military and she loved her bagpipes.'

Cowbrough was a member of 12 Wing Pipes and Drums (Shearwater) and played a harrowing rendition of “Amazing Grace” aboard H-M-C-S Fredericton in the aftermath of last month's mass shooting in Nova Scotia.

Cowbrough was enrolled in the cadets and started learning to play the pipes at around the age of 11.

She was one of six people killed when a Cyclone helicopter crashed while on a training exercise in the Mediterranean Sea on April 29. The CH-148 chopper was deployed from the Halifax-based frigate HMCS Fredericton.

As the family is grieving as a result of their tragic loss, the Department of National Defence is requesting that the public and the media respect their privacy. 

The departure time is planned for 6:00 p.m. (AST) and the detailed route is outlined below. There might be unforecasted delays or changes to the route due to circumstances beyond control. 

Planned motorcade route from Halifax Stanfield: For those who wish to recognize Cowbrough’s return home, the public is asked to adhere to COVID-19 restrictions and practice physical distancing while paying respects, in addition to observing traffic rules.

From the Park & Fly parking lot to Highway 102;
Highway 102 to Bayers Road;
Bayers Road to Windsor Street; 
Right onto Windsor Street to North Street;
Left onto North Street to Barrington Street;
Right onto Barrington Street to Cornwallis Street;
Left onto Cornwallis Street to Valour Way, HMC Dockyard;
Left onto Valour Way to Barrington Street; 
Right onto Barrington Street to the MacKay Bridge;
Continue on Highway 111 to Main Street / Highway 7;
Continue on Main Street to the Atlantic Funeral Home, 771 Main Street, Dartmouth.

SLt Abbigail Cowbrough will arrive in #Halifax today. There will be a motorcade to honour her final trip home starting at 6:00 pm from the airport. If you would like to pay your respects please adhere to COVID-19 restrictions and #physicaldistancing. pic.twitter.com/vFPcgestNu

— MARLANT (@RCN_MARLANT) May 11, 2020