GEORGETOWN, Texas – After being missing for more than 16 years, Williamson County investigators finally have an update to the disappearance of Rachel Cooke.
On Friday morning, Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody said through a tip to police they found a car connected to three or four persons of interest in the Cooke case. The car, a Pontiac Trans Am, was found in the Dallas area and matches the description of the vehicle witnesses saw the day Cooke disappeared.
- Car discovered connected to persons of interest in Cooke's case
- Rachel Cooke went missing in 2002 from her Georgetown neighborhood
- Remembering Rachel Cooke on 16th anniversary of her disappearance
This past January marked the 16th anniversary of Cooke’s disappearance. She was 19 years old when she went missing in 2002.
Home from college, Cooke was last seen jogging in her Georgetown neighborhood. Despite more than a decade of searching for answers, Cooke’s family is determined not to give up until they know what happened to their daughter.
Cooke was described as 5 foot 3 inches tall, 115 pounds, with blue/hazel eyes and blonde hair. She was wearing a gray running outfit, green sports bra, Asics running shoes and a yellow Walkman with headphones. She also has two heart-shaped cherries tattooed on her left foot, multiple ear piercings and a navel piercing.
Most recently, in June of 2017, a tip prompted the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office and FBI to dig up a 15-by-20-foot area about five miles north of Liberty Hill, but teams were unable to locate anything.
At the end of the Friday press conference Chody said he had a direct message for the people responsible for Cooke’s disappearance.
"We will continue to work hard on this case and our goal is to bring Rachel home,” Chody said.
A $100,000 reward is offered to anyone with information. If you have any information on what happened the morning of January 10, 2002, or where Cooke is, call the FBI at 1-800-225-5324. You can also submit tips at tips.fbi.gov.
