The remains of a woman found inside a bag in Hinchinbrooke, Que., has been identified by Quebec provincial police as 22-year-old Samantha Higgins.

Higgins, a mother of two young children, was reported missing earlier this week after she left a friend's home at the corner of Newman Boulevard and Lise Street in the Montreal borough of LaSalle and didn't make it home.

Samantha Higgins, 22, was last seen leaving a friend's home in Montreal on July 7. (Facebook) "Samantha was a very beautiful, young woman who loved her family very much. She loved life," said her mother, Vanessa Higgins, as she fought back tears.

"She was always happy and she would help anybody. She would take her own shirt off her back."

"She was an amazing mother," said Higgins's stepfather Dan Jones.

Her family had been putting up missing persons posters and searching around the clock since she was reported missing on July 7.

- Vanessa Higgins, victim's mother

The body was found under a bridge next to a small stream on Thursday night, about an hour and a half from Higgins's home. Multiple sources told CBC the remains had been dismembered.

"I'm so sorry that she's been taken away from me. My heart is so broken," Higgins said. "There's a lot of friends and family that miss her — and we all want answers."

Family and friends held a vigil Friday night in honour of Higgins. Just before 10 p.m., about 100 people gathered in LaSalle near Newman Boulevard and Lise Street — the place where she was last seen alive.

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Vanished after visiting friend

The mother of a 10-week-old boy and a four-year-old girl, was at a friend's home early on July 7.

She spoke with her boyfriend of seven years by phone around 1:10 a.m. ET saying she would be home soon, a family friend told CBC News earlier this week.

She left on foot shortly thereafter to make the 10-minute walk back home, but never made it.

The friend who Higgins had been visiting texted about an hour after her departure to see if she'd made it home safely.

Someone texted "Yup all safe" from her phone, which set off red flags for her family who say she didn't use the term "yup" in text messages.

Body found Thursday evening

The owner of a nearby dairy farm called 911 after one of his employees found the bag containing the remains Thursday evening.

Investigators with the provincial police service were on the scene for several hours collecting evidence and questioning residents.

The area is near the Canada-U.S. border.

The Sûreté du Québec confirmed Friday afternoon that the remains had been identified as belonging to Higgins. They are working with Montreal police on the investigation, which is currently considered a suspicious death.

The remains were removed from the scene just after 5 p.m. on Friday.