TX TX - Rachel Cooke, 20, Georgetown, 10 Jan 2002

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Thank you to all who posted for Rachel and those who love and miss her.

Tonight was busy, but blessed.

Since someone goes missing every 37 seconds in America, and for those who think this might not affect them, please read the journal Rachel's father has lovingly kept since she went missing.
http://rachelcookesearch.org/journal.html

His journal inspired me to hold this vigil tonight. Last year I was reading it in the evening after a long fun filled day of birthday events, and then it hit me. I was celebrating while my friend was mourning, mourning a child he could not even find. Mourning the fact he could not find her, and felt so helpless. Here I was in Germany, so far away, and all I wanted to do was come home, to Texas. The next best thing is to act. I tried my best to do that today.

I pray that all who took her info sheet tonight will do something, no matter what, to aide the families of the missing.

Again, special thanks to Natalie and family for providing a place for the vigil. More later!!

With love and HOPE, Lanie <-----sleepy cowgirl
Help For The Missing
HelpForTheMissing@yahoo.com
 
Lanie I just wanted to brag on you, Kelly and Mr. Cooke. You all have taken something that is hard to cope with and made it possible to help those who are going through the same tragic events. I know that if it had not been for the advice, support and resources that you all have given to me for Patrice and Carrie, then I would've never known where to go. ALthough these events you've had to witness have been bad, you have taken it and turned it into something positve to help others. I know that God will bless each of you for extending your kindness to total strangers. I will continue to remember each of you in my thoughts and prayers each day. I wish I could've been present for the vigil tonight for Rachel. I'm sure it was very nice.
 
I just got my 2 cook books. What a wonderful idea. Everyone should get one. I usually don't order things on-line, but I am so glad that I did this time. I love it. Great job Robert! Thank you again.
 
Bubble1421 said:
I just got my 2 cook books. What a wonderful idea. Everyone should get one. I usually don't order things on-line, but I am so glad that I did this time. I love it. Great job Robert! Thank you again.
Click to expand...

Thank you Bubble. For those of you who don't want to use a credit card on the Internet, we also accept mail orders. Go to http://rachelalert.org/RANMailorder.html to print out the form. You can fill it out before or after you print it.
 
Mr Cooke,
Is there any news on your daughters case? I read the journal regularly and its heartbreaking. I did a search the other day and came across an old post of yours where you were saying that you wanted a river drained to search for Rachel........was it ever done?
By the way, as soon as I get a bit of money together I'm def ordering a cookbook- I think its a wonderful idea.
 
There is nothin new on Rachel's case.

I wanted a lake drug, not drained. It was never done because it's a manmade lake which was not cleared before it was filled. In other words there are treess and old barns and things still on the bottom.
 
With prayers for answers, and soon.

Much love to all who love and miss Rachel.
Your friend, Lanie
 
I received this great update on Rachel through my Google Crime Alert. PLEASE read this long and wondrous piece on Rachel.

I am printing a tiny portion of it, that to me is very telling about the area in general where Rachel went missing. At the time when I worked as hard as an olde lady could work from a long distance on Rachels dissapearance, this part in blue strikes a heavy note with me. Eight bodies found in the same general area.

Robert, were the bodies found all girls? Were they sexually assaulted, and dna found?

You may not remember me, I gave you quite a run on quizzing you on Web Detectives. As I recall there was a sheriff's officer living within sight of your home, who worked 'varying shifts'. This was the person that I thought had the greatest opportunity. Was he a patrol officer that would have traveled the roads in the areas where the eight bodies were found?

I seem to remember that a couple had pulled into their driveway, that reported they had seen Rachel. I don't remember if Rachel would at that point have been running toward the direction of the 'neighborhood officer' OR OR OR was he supposedly sleeping, help me out here?

Not being up to date I am thinking that you surely must have a serial killer loose, that lives somewhere close to the 'killing' fields there, a great big hmmm in my head.

Here is the link to the article, and the snippet about the bodies.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1307571,00.html


Would a body give him some kind of relief? 'There's no
answer. Part of me wants to find her no matter what. Another
part hopes she is alive.' But he is growing painfully used to waiting for the results of DNA tests to come in; since Rachel disappeared, eight bodies have been found in or around his Williamson County home.

My God in heaven I don't know how you are still able to keep on keeping on. My heart cries for all of you. Rachels soul will never end.



.
 
I think all but one of the bodies found in the last 2-1/2 years turned out to be male. One female was found in Travis County (Austin) and her boyfriend was already convicted for her murder based on evidence found in his car.

Most people always point to a serial killer but in most cases it's someone who knew the victim or knew of them. Examples: family member, current or former ex-boyfriend, construction worker, etc. Serial killers murder only a small percentage people. The media just focuses a lot on them.

The last reports on Rachel show her heading towards our house.
 
RCOOKE said:
I think all but one of the bodies found in the last 2-1/2 years turned out to be male. One female was found in Travis County (Austin) and her boyfriend was already convicted for her murder based on evidence found in his car.

Most people always point to a serial killer but in most cases it's someone who knew the victim or knew of them. Examples: family member, current or former ex-boyfriend, construction worker, etc. Serial killers murder only a small percentage people. The media just focuses a lot on them.

The last reports on Rachel show her heading towards our house.
Click to expand...


================<><What distance from your home was the driveway, where the couple who sighted Rachel, from your home? I other words what distance did she have yet to go to get to your home, and did the police man who lives near you, then live beyond your driveway IF Rachel had made it to your house and or driveway? Were there bushes that might have obstructed the view of an encounter by a neighbor?

I still have a deep seated thought about that man being involved. As a pretty young woman years ago, there was a married man in our own neighborhood who stalked me by telephone. The houses were tract homes then, and closer together, otherwise I might not have faired too well either. I admit this is coloring my thinking but. We sold our house and moved.

Couple years later different part of the city, lived in a double. The married man in the other double actually climbed up into the attic and crawled over to our part of the structure and was waiting there for me when I came home from work on my daily split shift. He began by calling our home the minute I would come in the door pretending to be looking for another person then getting personal. I was saved only by my mother calling on the phone that afternoon, and my telling her of the small noises I was hearing in the area of the attic space, that was accessed through a small storage area off our kitchen.

Predators are like cats waiting for their prey, making sure they can get away with 'whatever IT is' that they have in mind.

What time of day was Rachel spotted by the couple?

I believe I recall by reading somewhere that the homes in the area where Rachel was taken were acreage, 3 acres or so. That is far enough apart for someone to have taken her quietly if they had planned it out well, without being seen at an early hour of day.



.
 
I believe I answered all of these questions on that other forum. I'll repeat them here. Rachel was spotted 200-300 yards from our house heading towards home. The time period was 10:30-11:00 a.m. on January 10, 2002. That does not mean that's when it happened as I've been advised not to hone in on the 10:30-noon timeframe. It was sometime in between 9:15 a.m. when her boyfriend in San Diego called and when I got home just before 5:00 p.m.

We lived in a one acre minimum rural subdivision with lots of brush and trees which shielded our house much more than any shrubs.
 
I just want to let you know that you and your family continue to be in our thoughts and prayers and we will contiue to pray for Rachels safe return home to you and your family.
 
Robert, thank you for your answer. Would you expand on your feelings about how you feel the initial investigation at the outset of Rachels disappearance was handled?

I ask this to be of aid to others who have NOT yet experienced such a total and devastating loss, to aid 'other families to face this madness'. Example, what questions to ask at the outset of the sheriff/LE peoples arrival to 'aid' in finding the missing person.

Rachel was such an incredibly beautiful girl!!!!

I am just getting into your site, and will continue reading and learning more there.

IF funds are available at this point, I would personally hire a [really GOOD]private investigator to thoroughly investigate one of my personal prime suspects, your neighbor, who was law enforcement officer and worked various shifts. As I remember he was a deputy with sherifs department, correct me if I err on that. IF IF I am accurate, my thought was that he could easily have transported her away, and IF IF he were on regular patrol duty, he would have perhaps had access to roads and places out of sight, night etc.

I would want to know from the PI, whether this man still lived in the same house, was he still married, and observe his usual routine at this time. After two years, the perp may be feeling he has gotten away with 'it' and be branching out yet again.

HOW long had this neighbor been your neighbor?

This has been a gut feeling I have had since I first learned about Rachel, several years ago, that he could be involved!!
I am not psychic, just have watched a lot of men, eyeing pretty girls in daily life.

I presume, that delivery vehicles, rural mail delivery schedule - how is mail delivered to house, at road box ?, trash truck pick ups, homes for sale in area - people that had been in the area in days before, looking at homes might have seen Rachel running before and came back the day she was missing and took her.

HOW was your mail delivered to the house, and postal packages. Rachel could have been home and answered the door to a mailman, or delivery man. Were dogs used to track her, that could have been VITAL if the trail led to the LE neighbors home!!!!!!!!! Does the Sheriffs department that covered the investigation have dogs at their disposal for quick use in cases like this.

This has been a major issue for me in crime sleuthing. The cost of keeping such dogs for LE is so high I AM ALWAYS TOLD. BUT I personally think that dedicated police officers would be more than willing to take on a dog for the department and keep on top of the training routines. Just give the guy money for part of the dog food, and a some extra money for his crime scene time. What LE department could not afford THAT? I could ramble for days on the topic of these valuable dogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DeputyLinda, if you are reading here, does your department have scent dogs available at a moments notice?

God bless you all!!!!!!



===========Windchime, my one and only sister died at birth, and her name was Rose Marie. I was not yet born at that time. I named my oldest daughter in her honor, being fatherless and sisterless was a sadness in my life. Sorry for your painful loss.



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Camper emailed me and asked me to read here...and Camper your questions are well thought-out and good ones. I can only hope that LE in Rachel's disappearance have worked heart and soul towards finding her. Her Father has been extraordinary on her behalf...and has stayed on top of everything possible. this should help LE remain motivated as cases go "cool". ...so your question about dogs...at least in my dept. the canine officers, and they ARE officers, are domiciled with their handlers. they are loved, protected, members of the family. we are always needing funds for bullet-proof vests for them. of course we have several dogs with different specialties. they are in our budget and not just a luxury. so they are always there for us. scent dogs often have to be brought in from other agencies, but are always willing to come of course. should not be a problem. ours are bomb and drug-sniffing,as well as scent. i really have nothing useful to add, but Camper invited my comment. and i truly hope Rachel comes home to her loving family.
 
I spent a long time developing the Guidelines to Follow on Rachel Alert Network. It gives suggestions to families and friends of missing persons how to work with law enforcement, the media, volunteer organizations, etc. Anyone can access it on www.rachelalert.org/guidelines.html. I hope to do some updates to that document soon.

As I have said many many times. I will not give out details on the Internet about certain parts of Rachel's case. This includes suspects, the exact area searches where done, etc. Anyone can be reading my post including the person who took Rachel. I will be happy to take suggestions, but I won't be able to give any feedback in return for the same reasons. There are some good people working on Rachel's case right now who I feel really care. I do not want to interfer with their work.

As far as money goes, there is only the reward fund. Private Investigators are very expensive and a good one is extremely hard to find. I have three different private investigtors working on Rachel's case during the first year. I no longer can use the limited personal income I have for that.
 
Thank you for the direction to all of the links.


I read the wonderful article by Rachel Cooke from England, on your site. In the article she says that you are a software engineer for IBM, it must take an inordinate amount of time to keep up on all of the things involved in your efforts for Rachel. How do you manage it all with your job and has IBM been helpful to you in your activity on behalf of Rachel? I would hope so, it has to be so difficult.

God bless you all.



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For Rachel, and all who miss and search for her.

Prayers for answers, and soon.

Much love, Lanie
 
The National Center for Missing Adults has placed a tribute video for Rachel on their web site. I show this video at the end of my victim impact statement in the missing person training class for law enfocement. RACHEL'S SONG was written and performed by Al White.

Click here to watch the real video version
 
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