N.H. Cold Case Unit conducts search for Sinclairs near Vernon Dam

New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph A. Foster, New Hampshire State Police Colonel Robert Quinn, and New Hampshire Fish and Game Colonel Martin Garabedian announced Tuesday that there are ongoing diving operations in Hinsdale, near the Vernon, Vt., dam.

Those operations are part of a missing persons' investigation into the 2001 disappearance of Bethany Sinclair and her mother, Tina Sinclair.

The searches are scheduled to be conducted on land and in the area of the dam on June 17 and 18.

Bethany and Tina Sinclair were last seen together in Chesterfield during the weekend of Feb. 3-4, 2001. Prior to that weekend, Tina and Bethany lived in West Chesterfield at the residence of Tina's boyfriend, Eugene Van Bowman, at 182 Mountain Rd.

Tina last went to her job and Bethany last attended school on Feb. 2, 2001. Tina was 36-years-old when they went missing. Bethany was just 15-years-old.

According to Foster, the searches are not because of any new leads or information.

Instead, while dives have been conducted on the Connecticut River in the past, Foster said new techniques, training, and resources gained in past years have made it possible to search additional areas not previously accessible to searchers.

In addition to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Dive Team, and the New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol Unit, the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit is being assisted by the Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Team and the Vermont State Police SCUBA Team.

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