Shari Renae Booth

Shari, circa 2008

  • Missing Since 05/19/2008
  • Missing From Skagit County, Washington
  • Classification Lost/Injured Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 01/20/1988 (36)
  • Age 20 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'4, 110 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description 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 Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Shari has a scar on her eyebrow. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance

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.

Investigating Agency

  • Skagit County Sheriff's Office 360-336-9450

Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated August 31, 2019; details of disappearance updated.