N.H. native missing in Guatemala

DEDHAM, Mass. — The search started Saturday, January 6.

That's the last time anyone's heard from Justin Booska, who grew up in New Hampshire, went to school at Brandeis and works in Waltham.

He arrived in Guatemala soon after the new year on vacation with a friend's family.

While there, they decided to check out "Laguna de Ayarza,” a popular crater lake in southern Guatemala.

Booska was last spotted in the water.

On Tuesday, via FaceTime from Denver, his brother Ben told Boston 25 News he is worried.

“He was an avid swimmer. We don't think that was a contributing factor,” Ben Booska explained. “He routinely still goes for swims.”

Various teams have now been searching for the 27-year-old.

These pictures from Guatemala show the resources being used.

His brother also started a GoFundMe page, which has already raised thousands of dollars to support the search.

“At this point, we're just hoping that he got lost, fell, hurt himself and is unable to rescue himself essentially,” said Ben.

But it's the unknown they worry about. As days go on, the questions are getting harder and the fear of what happened grows.

“We're just trying to stay positive,” he said. “Of course, there's always a worry there. It's nice that initially my thought that something nefarious happened was squashed very quickly. There were no signs or anything to lead us to believe that he was kidnapped.”

Justin's family says the Guatemalan community has been very supportive, but they know that as the search continues, more resources will be needed.

His family is planning to go there, but they're staying here for now because communications are difficult in Guatemala and they're having better luck coordinating from the United States so far.

Cox Media Group