Soap Lake man is missing

Vehicle recovered, search on hold

COLUMBIA BASIN — A Soap Lake man has been missing since Dec. 10.

Anthony J. Scarboro, 21, also known as A.J., was reported missing to the Grant County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 15, five days after he left his home, Chief Criminal Deputy John Turley said.

According to his family, it is not unusual for him to leave for a couple days, but the family became concerned when he was missing for nearly a week, Turley added.

A vehicle registered to Scarboro was recovered in mid-December at the north end of Ephrata Lake near Soap Lake, by the sheriff's office. Turley said the vehicle was suspiciously parked.

The keys and gasoline were still in the car, along with all his belongings, mother Sue Harmon said.

The department worries for Scarboro because of his condition.

A couple of years ago, he was involved in a car accident causing him to lose his short term memory function, Turley said.

"It would be similar to trying to find an Alzheimer's patient," he said.

He may have left one day and forgot how to get back, Turley said.

"There didn't seem to be any foul play," he said. "He's just gone and nobody can find him."

Several rescue missions were conducted to locate Scarboro.

The area where the vehicle was located was searched on foot and horseback by search and rescue teams, he said. Aerial searches were conducted without success. People who knew him were interviewed but the search for information continues.

Weather halted some necessary search work.

The lake is iced over, blocking an underwater search.

"The area was covered by six to seven inches of snow," Turley said. "It has to warm up just a little bit before we can do a really good search of the area."

The sheriff's office fears if Scarboro was out in the harsh weather, it could become a search mission rather than a rescue mission, according to Turley.

The vehicle was taken into custody by the sheriff's office and sealed in order to preserve a scent to be utilized by cadaver dogs when the department begins the search again, he said. Due to cold temperatures and snow it was nearly impossible for them to pick up a scent.

The family of Scarboro offers a $1,000 reward for information leading to his confirmed location.

His family describes him as 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighing between 120 pounds to 150 pounds. Scarboro has brown hair and brown eyes. He has facial scars, tongue and ear piercings and he walks with a limp due to metal rods in his leg. Scarboro has several tattoos including flames on his left arm and the words "pure" and "hate" written across his knuckles.