The search for a mother-of-three who was last seen buying wine and milk at a petrol station over the weekend has entered its third day.
Rachel Booth, 38, was reported missing on Saturday, July 19, after being last seen by her family in the village of Barnton near Northwich, Cheshire, sparking a major search operation.
Cheshire Constabulary yesterday released CCTV of her last sighting which shows her walking around the Sandiway Garage, along the A556 west of Northwich, in exercise gear at 3.50am on Saturday.
Rachel was seen wearing black leggings, a black vest and trainers at the time she vanished, with a phone visible on her outer thigh, suggesting she was out on a run.
Specially trained search and rescue teams yesterday scoured Delamere Lake Sailing & Holiday Park and Wild Shore water sports centre, Cheshire – around a mile and a half from her last known sighting – in a frantic bid to find Rachel.
Police believe she may have travelled to the village of Oakmere, near Delamere Forest, while underwater search teams have also been deployed to the sailing lake.
Isaac Carolan, 19, who works at the Sandiway Garage, revealed Rachel’s final purchase before she vanished.
Police have launched an urgent hunt for missing woman Rachel Booth who was last seen at a petrol station
CCTV shows Rachel Booth, 38, walking around Sandiway Garage, west of Northwich in Cheshire, at 3.50am on Saturday July 19
A police officer with a dog is seen searching Delamere Lake Sailing & Holiday Park on Sunday
He told The Sun: ‘I spoke to my colleague who had served her on Saturday morning. She bought milk and wine and jogged from 45 minutes away.’
He added: ‘But it didn’t seem weird, she didn’t seem disturbed or flustered.’
Another shopkeeper, at a Premier store in Barnton, where Rachel lives, described her as ‘a lovely clever lady’ who always comes in for parcels. They said she is ‘very active and very nice’, adding: ‘We all like her.’
Under the police appeal, two friends have claimed they may have spotted Rachel – described as being 5ft 9in tall, of a slim build and with blonde hair – attempting to hitchhike hours after her last sighting.
They said: ‘It does look like the same lady that was hitching a lift except the lady we seen [sic] obviously had the yellow jacket/cardigan on.’
The potential witness said this was around the Church Minshull area – some eight miles from the petrol station – between 12.30pm and 1.15pm on Saturday, hours after her last official sighting.
A separate witness also claimed they may have seen her passing a farm shop at Minshull and ‘walking towards Crewe’.
Nearby water park Wild Shore Delamere has also been shut down temporarily. The company said it has closed due to ‘ongoing police investigations in the surrounding area’, but insists the incident is ‘unrelated’ to them.
Rachel’s mother, Chrissie Widdowson, shared the police’s appeal to find her daughter, along with friends and members of the public.
Rachel is described as being 5ft 9in tall, of a slim build and with blonde hair
The area police searched yesterday is around a mile and a half – a 35 minute walk along the Chester Road – from the Shell garage she was last sighted
Police emergency vehicles are seen patrolling Delamere Lake Sailing & Holiday Park
The Wild Shore Delamere water park (left) has been shut while police search the surrounding area
A police officer and dog join the search for missing mother-of-three Rachel Booth
Incident support vehicles and police vans were deployed to the scene to help with the search
Roads were closed off as officers searched Delamere Lake and Sailing Club
Friends and members of the public have shared a police appeal to find her far and wide
Pictured is the Sandiway Garage near Northwich, Cheshire, where Rachel was last seen
One man who ‘grew up around the corner’ from her posted: ‘She is honestly one of the nicest people you could meet.’
Another described her as a mother-of-three with ‘three gorgeous boys and a ‘loving husband’.
A Cheshire beauty salon also posted photos of Rachel, saying she is a ‘client’ of theirs.
Liz Almond Aesthetics, an aesthetics practitioner at Beyond Beauty Group in Nantwich, said: ‘This lady is a client of ours. Share as much as you can and get her home safe.’
Inspector James Wilson, of Cheshire Constabulary, said: ‘We are currently following a number of enquiries to trace Rachel and we are becoming increasingly concerned for her welfare.
‘As part of our investigation, our officers and partner agencies, including the Underwater Search Team and Cheshire Search and Rescue, are conducting enquiries in the Oakmere and surrounding areas where it is believed Rachel travelled to, and we would like to thank local businesses for their patience and understanding while these are currently ongoing.
‘Investigators are following all lines of enquiry and anyone who has seen Rachel since she was reported missing is asked to contact us. The same goes for anyone who has any information on her whereabouts.
‘We would also like to appeal directly to Rachel to get in touch to let us know you are OK.
Wild Shore Delamere water park said ‘police have requested that we close this site to aid their investigation’
Wild Shore Delamere has also been shut down despite the company insisting the incident is ‘unrelated’ to them
This is the area that police were yesterday searching around the Delamere Lake Sailing & Holiday Park
‘You can report information to Cheshire Police via 101 or through www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us quoting IML-2136439.’
Wild Shore Delamere said: ‘Due to ongoing police investigations in the surrounding area, Wildshore Delamere will remain closed tomorrow, Sunday, July 20th.
‘We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
‘The incident is unrelated to Wild Shore – however, we wish to help as much as possible – so we will be closing the site until further notice.
‘If your booking is affected by this closure, please contact our customer services team.
‘We’ll be happy to arrange a refund or reschedule your session for a later date. Thank you for your understanding.’
In a previous post, the water park said ‘police have requested that we close this site to aid their investigation’.
