Courtney Marcher was 22 when she disappeared from Oahu’s North Shore after an early morning surf on April 4, 2004. She had moved to Hawaii from Florida two months earlier to pursue surfing and planned to attend the University of Hawaii. Between 8:30 and 8:50 a.m. Courtney told friends in the water she was heading back to shore; that was the last confirmed contact. She was reported missing the next day after failing to show up for a planned dinner.

Courtney’s purse, cell phone, and epilepsy medication were left at home. Her white Glen A. Klugel surfboard was found four days later by fishermen three miles off Kaʻena Point, about eighteen miles from Velzyland. The board was intact but the plastic ankle leash was severed, with serrated markings that an expert could not definitively attribute to a shark bite or to sharp reef. Investigators have said they do not suspect foul play and the prevailing theory is a tragic accident at sea. No trace of Courtney has been found and her family held a memorial service in July 2004.

If anyone was on the North Shore that morning or remembers seeing Courtney or her board, please come forward with information.