EDENTON, N.C. — It's now been eight years since Karen Bosta disappeared, but her mother isn't giving up hope she'll find out what happened to her.
"It feels like a dream. It feels surreal," Arlene Murin, her mother, told News 3 Monday.
Bosta has been missing since May 30, 2015.
Murin says her own mother was in hospice and Bosta was helping to care for her when she disappeared.
"[My mother] said, 'Arlene, I haven't seen Karen for a few days. Is she mad at me?' Oh my God, I didn't want to tell her that she never came home," Murlin remembers.
Bosta was last seen in Edenton and bought cigarettes at a grocery store using her mom's credit card.
The next day, a man was seen using the card at a gas station and later pleaded guilty to using the card, but was not charged in Bosta's disappearance.
All these years later, Murin does not believe her daughter is still alive but wants to know what happened to her.
"They say the worst thing that can happen that a parent can experience is the loss of their child. That is true, but I can take that to another level or horror for your child to vanish without a trace," said Murin.
The Perquimans County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation. Sheriff Shelby White told News 3 it's considered a missing persons case. He said they continue to follow leads in the case.
Murin is pleading with the community to come forward and help explain the disappearance.
A reward is being offered for information in the case.
"[I'm] begging for someone to come forward and help me, help her sister, help her nieces. It's terrible," she said.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Sheriff's Office at 252-426-5615. People can also message their Facebook page and message a Facebook page called "Missing Karen Rae Bosta."
"Please help me find peace and closure," said Murin.
