David Boone

Dave’s story

David “Dave” Boone, 56, left his home near Town Center Drive in Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest, on the afternoon of Dec. 5, 2006, apparently for a walk. He took no wallet, money, keys, phone or warm clothes. He never came back. Bloodhounds tracked his scent into nearby Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, and a week-long search followed, but nothing was found. [1][4][6]

Who Dave was

Dave Boone was a respected golf-club designer. As product manager and chief designer at Lynx Golf, he spent years developing the Parallax iron, finished in 1991. Fred Couples used Parallax irons to win the 1992 Masters, and Ernie Els used them to win the 1994 U.S. Open. Boone also built the company’s tour staff. He left Lynx before its 1998 bankruptcy to become an executive at Zevo Golf, which closed in 2003, and later designed clubs for smaller South Korean makers. A former tight end at Fullerton College, he was 6’3” to 6’4”. [1]

He was the father of four sons, and in December 2006 he was going through a divorce. He walked the trails of Whiting Ranch almost every day. [1][6]

What happened

His teenage son last saw him at home around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5. Dave appeared to have left on foot. His wallet, money, keys, bicycle, phone and car were all still there, along with papers on new club designs, and no warm clothes were missing. His estranged wife stopped by around 6:30 p.m. and found the house dark. His son reported him missing early the next morning, and the sons searched local trails before dawn. Relatives said leaving his youngest son alone like that was out of character. [1][2][6]

The Sheriff’s Department began an organized search on Friday, Dec. 8, having first allowed for the possibility that he’d come back after a short absence. Two bloodhounds followed a scent from his home about four miles into Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park. Helicopters, mounted teams, off-road vehicles and search-and-rescue volunteers combed the park for a week. Hundreds of friends and church members joined in. Nothing was found. [1][4][6]

Where it happened

Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park covers about 2,500 acres of steep canyons, oak woodland and scrub on the edge of the Santa Ana Mountains, a short walk from Foothill Ranch’s town center. December nights there can be near freezing. Investigators said that if he had been lost or hurt, he could not have survived long in that weather. [1][2]

What investigators have said

The Sheriff’s Department lists Dave as an endangered missing person and still asks for information. [5] Its bulletin says his family was concerned because of “recent uncharacteristic behavior” and the abruptness of his disappearance. In 2019 a department spokesman said the case remained open with no new leads. No death certificate has been issued. [1][3]

His sons, with help from a former FBI agent, reviewed his computer and five years of bank and credit records and found no sign that he planned to leave. Before he vanished, the family home had received a call: “We know where you live.” A former Lynx executive told a reporter he suspected foul play, citing people who had lost money in the business. Others who knew him wondered about a breakdown. These are personal opinions; no evidence for any of them has been made public. [1]

Where accounts differ

• The bloodhound trail is not proof of his route. Because Dave walked in Whiting Ranch almost every day, investigators said they couldn’t tell whether the scent was from Dec. 5. [6]
• The time: about 2 p.m. (Sheriff’s Department, federal records and his son), or about 3 p.m. in one secondary account. [2][4]
• His size: 6’3” and 220–230 lbs in official records; 6’4” and about 240 lbs in a magazine profile. [1][3]

Open questions

• Did Dave go into Whiting Ranch that afternoon, or somewhere else?
• What was the “uncharacteristic behavior” his family noticed?
• Who made the “We know where you live” call, and was it ever reported?

What you can do

• If you were on the trails around Whiting Ranch or Foothill Ranch on the afternoon of Dec. 5, 2006, and remember a tall, gray-haired man walking alone, contact the Sheriff’s Department.
• If you hike Whiting Ranch or the nearby Santa Ana Mountains and find old clothing or belongings off-trail, don’t disturb them. Note the location and report it.
• Check unidentified remains: his distinctive feature, one calf noticeably smaller than the other, can help rule cases in or out.