Rosemary Theresa Kunst

Kunst, circa 2000

  • Missing Since 08/18/2000
  • Missing From Siskiyou County, California
  • Classification Lost/Injured Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 11/01/1929 (94)
  • Age 70 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'3, 122 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A blue fleece shirt, hiking boots and a blue baseball cap.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Gray hair, hazel eyes. Kunst has numerous surgical scars.

Details of Disappearance

Kunst resided in San Anselmo, California at the time of her disappearance. In August 2000, she attended a weekend retreat hosted by the Earth Circle Association in Quartz Valley, California. She and the other guests camped in the Marble Mountain Wilderness, twenty miles from Etna, California.

At 9:00 a.m. on August 18, 2000, Kunst stayed behind in camp while her companions went on a hike for the day. She apparently decided to go for a short hike by herself that afternoon. She was carrying only a sandwich, some trail mix and her journal at the time. She never returned to camp and has never been heard from again. She was last seen at the south end of Spirit Lake, walking towards a ridge.

The Spirit Lake area is very steep and rugged with a lot of timber and boulders. Investigators believe Kunst became lost. Her family says she was not despondent at the time of her disappearance and has no history of leaving without warning.

Extensive searches turned up no sign of her besides a tuft of her hair, which was found caught in some heavy brush south of Spirit Lake. Her case remains unsolved.

Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated February 7, 2006; details of disappearance updated.