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Penticton  

Grief over vacation accident

There's been an outpouring of grief on social media for a local woman who was killed in a snorkeling accident in Thailand last week.

Shelly Bot, 50, passed away after being struck by a boat while snorkeling on vacation on the island of Koh Tao.

Renda Currie said she’s known Bot since their teens, and despite moving apart later in life, had stayed close. Bot was loved by the community, and at her workplace at the Dollar Tree.

She says Bot was not able to travel during her first marriage, and just now, after receiving a small inheritance and saving her pennies all year, was excited to see the world with her boyfriend, Jack. “She was looking forward to travelling so much,” Currie said.

Bot’s 19-year-old son Kevin had come up from the Lower Mainland to watch over his 15-year-old sister, Tamara, while Bot was on vacation. Kevin ended up being the person who received the initial call from Thailand.

“He’s had to be the strong middle child, I mean he’s an adult, but he’s still a kid to me – they are pretty sombre,” she said, adding that Tamara has now been uprooted and is living with their father in Aldergrove. Bot also leaves behind a 20-year-old son, Kurtis.

“You don’t foresee stuff like this happening in the future, but for the sake of those kids we’ve got a really strong bond,” Currie said.

Currie has launched a GoFundMe page to help pay for post secondary education for the three children. All three were planning on going to college or university, but will now struggle to do so without the financial support of their mother.



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