Family and friends of Nathan Booth have welcomed a highly anticipated Coronial Inquest into his death, which has been scheduled for 14th December 2023.

This will be the first of two inquests, with the second scheduled for April-May 2024.

Desperate for answers, the Booth family have been fighting for justice for several years.

"I will not sit back until we try every avenue. What we do here, matters to the rest of Australia. I want to change the system so other families don't have to go through what we have," Mr Booth's sister Deanne Booth told National Indigenous Times.

The date for the Coronial Inquest follows an ACT Police appeal seeking more information about the unsolved death.

The last reported sighting of Mr Booth was in June 2019, with his remains being found in December later that year.

Mr Booth was discovered by schoolboys in rough terrain nearby popular bike tracks and hiking trails along the Murrumbidgee River, not far from Kambah Pool recreation area.

Piecing together the puzzle, ACT Police have requested all who saw Mr Booth in the lead up to his disappearance to come forward and share details.

Additionally, they are calling for members of the public who visited the area such as bushwalkers, bike riders, and kayakers to contact police if they have any video or images including those taken by action cameras or drones.

Mr Booth's family have said the ACT Police initially ruled the death as a misadventure and did not adequately investigate circumstances surrounding the death, despite being provided with additional information at the time.

"This wouldn't have happened if this was a white man in Canberra. When a black person goes missing, it's always a misadventure," Ms Booth said.

"We aren't ready to accept that this was a misadventure or a suicide. Nathan is still an important person in our family, we want justice for Nathan. But it's bigger than him, it happens to too many Aboriginal people."

Whilst it has been a long and difficult journey to get to this point, Ms Booth said the family are pleased with their interaction with the coroner's office, stating that Coroner Archer is acknowledging how the family feels, that they are all feeling listened to and that the whole experience has been very respectful.

Remembered as a family man with a big heart, Nathan Booth was a proud father to four beautiful girls and has two grandsons he never had the opportunity to meet.

He has been described as a fiercely loyal and protective member of their family, a person who would often go out of his way to help the frail or elderly, he was the kind of person who would make cups of tea for his mother and would never miss his seeing his Aunty on her birthday, which he happened to share with her.

Acknowledging that her son was not perfect, his mother Mrs Booth shared stories of her lovable larakin, a "Mr Fix-it" who was known for tinkering with things like bikes, frequently pulling them apart but rarely putting them back together, an amusing trait to those that loved him.

Mrs Booth paints a loving picture of her son.

"People might think of him as being a criminal and whatever doing all these things, but he had a lovely gentle side to him as well," she said.

"He did a lot of good things especially for anybody, he'd help out where he could especially with elders, if he saw someone, you know struggling, he'd help."

Ms Booth said Nathan's protective instinct were apparent even at the age of fourteen, when he thought nurses were being too rough with his baby nephew.

He had stepped in and took over while his sister had fallen ill and was in hospital for a week after the birth.

"Nathan took care of his nephew, changed all the nappies and fed him and wouldn't let the nurses near him," Ms Booth said with laughter, describing how gentle he was.

Ms Booth said she would often spend quality time with her brother watching crime shows, explaining how Nathan would get frustrated with the storyline and say things like 'How does someone get murdered in a small town and no one knows about it?', a comment that now eerily reflects his own death in Canberra's tight knit community.

"We had a lot of people tell us stories, we didn't chase down the stories but we kept reporting them," Ms Booth said.

"I've never heard of a death where all this talk went on and on like that."

Ms Booth further explained how important these conversations were.

"People might only be giving pieces, but it might be the missing piece. We have a lot of friends and family. Everyone was hearing something," she said.

Ms Booth shared at first her experience with the ACT Police was disappointing.

"They didn't take any witness statements, they weren't taking any information because they ruled as a misadventure. We were calling up trying to give information and they wouldn't take our info," she said.

Acknowledging how many unnecessary obstacles she encountered throughout the process, Ms Booth now hopes to influence change in the system, so that other families are supported from the onset in similar circumstances and precious time and/or evidence is not wasted.

She mentioned Ryan's Rule that exists within hospital settings, which families can use if they feel a patient's condition is not being acted upon within necessary time.

"Something like that should exist," she said.

"Even if we don't get the answers, someone might come along after us and get the answers."

Whilst the family are feeling hopeful with the announcement of the enquiry, they are still in need of legal representation.

Ms Booth advised the hearing has been extended from five days to ten, and now for the first-time experts will be undertaking a thorough and extensive examination of evidence. She added that people can still share information "There's now a hotline and people can stay anonymous".

Individuals with information about the death of Nathan Booth can contact the inquest directly.

As family await the inquest, there are plans in place to establish a memorial chair at Pine Island.