Missing
Shari Renae Booth
Shari, approximately 2008
Date and time person was reported missing : 05/19/2008
Missing location (approx) :
Skagit County, Washington
Missing classification : Lost/Injured Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 01/20/1988 (33)
Age at the time of disappearance: 20 years old
Height / Weight : 5'4, 110 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A blue and black two-piece Seasoft wetsuit, a size 8 mask, diving boots, fins, a dive tank and a 20-pound diving belt.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Shari has a scar on her eyebrow. Her ears are pierced.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Shari was last seen in Skagit County, Washington on May 19, 2008. She was a freshman marine biology major at Walla Walla University and disappeared while on a three-day trip to the university's Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory near Anacortes with her advanced scuba diving class.
The class was taking one of about six dives and Booth went diving with a partner, as part of a larger group. She did not resurface and an extensive search of the water turned up no sign of her. She is presumed to have drowned.
Her mother, Marsha Booth, sued Walla Walla University and Shari's diving instructor, Gene Bruns, for Shari's wrongful death, alleging the training and materials used in the diving course were deficient and that Shari wasn't appropriately screened, properly instructed or adequately prepared for the dive. Marsha also alleged the dive location was inappropriate and that Bruns demonstrated "reckless indifference" when he failed to enter the water to try to save her.
In September 2016, the lawsuit was settled out of court. Neither side admitted any liability and the terms of the settlement have not been publicly disclosed.
Shari graduated from Columbia Adventist Academy in Battleground, Washington in 2007. She lived in Brush Prairie, Washington when she was not at school. Her body has never been found.
Other information and links : ncy
Skagit County Sheriff's Office
360-336-9450
September 2021 updates and sources
Washington State Missing Persons Search
Spectrum Magazine
Western Washington University
KIRO TV
Remembering Shari
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
