Officials investigating 1977 killing seek public’s help after releasing new photos of woman
Authorities hope to speak with owners of vehicle seen near scene
The Attorney General’s Office’s Cold Case Unit on Friday released previously unseen photos of a woman who was later found dead in 1977. Investigators hope the images will spark someone’s memory from that day.
Authorities said Shari Lynn Roth, 22, left her New Hampshire home alone on Sunday, Aug. 21, 1977, to go hiking on the Sawyer Brook Trail.
When she didn’t come home that day, concerned friends reported Roth missing.
Her body was found on Aug. 24, 1977, along a state route near a pond.
An autopsy determined that Roth had been strangled to death. No one has ever been charged in her killing.
“Shari was a gentle flower, just waiting for the sunrise,” the Shari family released in a statement through the Attorney General’s Office. “She lived by the words, ‘You can’t change the world, but you can change your corner.’ All we can ask is that if someone reads this and has information about who killed her, please come forward. Change your corner of the world by doing the right thing. Your information could help bring answers, justice, and resolution to our family and friends who love and miss her every day.”
Roth moved to North Conway, New Hampshire, after graduating from Syracuse University. She also attended the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Family members said she became very active in working with the older community, battered women and troubled teens. She was described as a “popular, vibrant social worker.”
“We’re hopeful for is that people that know what happened to Shari will have the strength to come forward,” Christopher Knowles, chief of the Cold Case Unit, said.
While memories often fade, Knowles is optimistic that time can actually help the case move forward.
“That span of time, it gives people strength to come forward,” he said. “Fears that they once had no longer exist, alliances that they once held, [were] obligated to are gone. And so we’ve seen time help cases in that sense where witnesses are now willing to come forward.”
Investigators are particularly interested in identifying the owner of a red Volkswagen Beetle parked at the trail’s entrance. Authorities do not consider the owner suspicious, but they believe they may have helpful information.
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Shari Roth is urged to contact authorities:
