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The Search for Rachel, a father's journal

Thursday, January 1

A new year begins without any answers. There are still no answers to who took Rachel and why. We have searched, hung thousands of flyers, and done countless other activities to bring Rachel home. I pray that this year we will find her and the person who took her.

Friday, January 2

A child's remains were found south of Fort Worth, Texas, last week. The medical examiner has determined that the skull found is that of a 5 to 7-year-old child. The clothes and tennis shoes found nearby are linking the remains to missing 6-year-old Opal Jennings. Opal was abducted outside her grandparents home in 1999. DNA test are being run to verify that it is Opal. My thoughts and prayers go out to Opal's family.

We have added a white dove release to the Gratitude and Remembrance ceremony on Saturday, January 10. The doves will be released around 5:00 p.m.

FOX 7 NEWS interview Janet and me today. The segment aired on their 9:00 p.m. news program.

Saturday, January 3

I attended a search and rescue function at Bastrop State Park today. Members of the Montgomery County SAR and other SARs practiced map reading and compass use. The park has several "waypoints" marked on the map people can use for this.

I have set up an e-mail account for people to send recipes for the Rachel Alert Network cookbook. E-mail your recipe to cookbook@rachelalert.org. Please include your name, state, and the recipe ingredients and directions. An optional paragraph may also be included. You can write a message to Rachel, our family, or information or any other missing.

We will be accepting recipes until May (or when we have enough recipes). The cookbook should be ordered in June and be available for purchase in early August. They will probably cost $15.

Sunday, January 4

The first recipe for the Rachel Alert Network cookbook was received yesterday. The recipe came all the way from Finland. Our supporter there is named Anne, and she has written me many times.

I started working on the 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel web page. This year I'd like to have over 70 participants. The Run/Walk is the primary source of funds for RAN, so mark your calendars for Saturday, May 15. The Run/Walk will be held at OLD SETTLERS PARK in Round Rock at 8:00 a.m. on that day.

Monday, January 5

I sent out some e-mail invitations for this Saturday's Gratitude and Remembrance. Hopefully I remembered most of the people who have helped us. Everyone is welcome at the remembrance.

The hearts from the Laci Peterson teddy bear maker should arrive tomorrow. Everyone who comes to the Saturday remembrance will get a heart.

Tuesday, January 6

I think we have everything ready for this Saturday's 2-year remembrance for Rachel. We will have snacks and drinks for people to consume while they visit.

The hearts from the Laci Peterson teddy bear maker arrived today. They are beautiful. Janet and I put together some packages to give to people this Saturday. The package contains a heart, a ribbon, and one of Rachel's buttons.

While checking other missing person web sites, I found a non-profit agency named Project Jason. Project Jason was founded by the parents of missing 19-year-old Jason Jolkowski to help families of missing persons. I am very interested in a program they are starting called 18 Wheel Angels. The 18 Wheel Angels program seeks out truck drivers and asks them to place missing person flyers on their trucks.

Back in 2002 we tried to get a trucking company based in Salt Lake City to place Rachel's bumper stickers on their trucks, but it fell through. The 18 Wheel Angels program is a "grass roots" effort. It asks individual truckdrivers to put the flyers on their trucks. For more information visit projectjason.org.

Wednesday, January 7

We had several people confirm reservations for the January 13 M.U.S.T. self-defense seminar. I wouldn't be surprised if the class is full.

The media is starting to call to arrange interviews with us about Rachel's disappearance and the 2-year remembrance. I think Friday night and Saturday night there will be news segments about Rachel on various TV channels.

Another sick person is using Rachel's picture on an Internet dating service. I have notified the web sites support team. If her picture is not removed within a week, I will take additional actions.

Thursday, January 8

Rachel's boyfriend Greg is flying in tomorrow. He will attend Rachel's 2-year remembrance. I'm always glad to see Greg.

I was mistaken about the 18 Wheel Angels program from Project Jason. The main emphasis of the program is to get truck drivers to post missing person flyers at businesses and truck stops along their route. It's still a great idea. Maybe a few of them will put a flyer or bumper sticker on their truck if it's not against their company's policies.

I did an interview with KXAN NEWS after work today. The segment will be shown either Friday or Saturday night. They will also show part of it during their Saturday morning FirstCast program. Janet will be on KXAN's FirstCast between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning. I will be on KVUE's Daybreak around 8:45 a.m. the same day.

I also did a telephone interview with KLBJ/AM NEWS. They will probably play part of the interview Friday morning and Saturday morning. A lot of people listen to the station on their way to work.

M.U.S.T. seminar instructor Deborah Brown sent me a description of the M.U.S.T. seminar contents. I added the details to rachelalert.org/must.

Friday, January 9

I picked up Rachel's boyfriend Greg from the airport tonight. We ate dinner with Tim Miller and John Mitchler from Texas EquuSearch and my friend Sara.

It was kind of a wild day in the media. The new interim Williamson Country Sheriff fired 21 employees on Wednesday. Today during the sheriff's swearing in those employees and their families protested outside the courtroom.

We continue to receive reservations for the January 13 M.U.S.T self-defense and awareness seminar. Over 50 women and teens have committed to attend. We may fill the class.

Saturday, January 10

Two years ago today Rachel disappeared, and two years have passed without any answers. In those two years we have had tremendous support from the people of Central Texas and beyond. This is what has kept us going.

James and Darrell from Texas EquuSearch came over around noon to visit. They were both with Tim Miller the first time Texas EquuSearch came to Georgetown to search for Rachel. At 2:00 p.m. Rachel's boyfriend Greg and I picked up food trays from a grocery store and headed for the 2-year remembrance for Rachel.

By 4:30 p.m. close to 200 people had already gathered at Faith Lutheran Church. Janet and I spoke and then opened the mike up to the audience to talk about Rachel. Several family members and friends of Rachel talked about what Rachel meant to them. The new sheriff Jim Wilson told us he would do whatever it takes to find Rachel. Of course, he can't promise to find her. We may never find her.

Our friend and M.U.S.T self-defense instructor Deborah Brown sang a beautiful song. Then we all went outside and released the birds. Janet, our daughter JoAnn, and I each released a bird and then Rachel's grandparents, Glenn and Louise Cooke, released Rachel's bird. The birds circled a few times, and then they headed home to New Brunfels, Texas.

After the bird release, a few more people spoke about Rachel, and my cousin Michaux sang. The prayer service at 5:45 p.m. was beautiful. I'd like to thank Paster John Selle and Faith Lutheran Church for supporting us once more. Faith Lutheran has been there for us time and time again.

Sunday, January 11

I drove Rachel's boyfriend Greg to the airport this afternoon. He had to get back to San Diego. It was very good to see him again.

The rachelcookesearch.org/2year web page has been updated with links to news coverage from yesterday's Gratitude and Remembrance ceremony. I will add some pictures of the remembrance soon.

Monday, January 12

A few more women called me today and reserved a spot in tomorrow night's M.U.S.T. self-defense and awareness seminar. I think we will have over 80 women attending the class.

I posted some pictures from Saturday that my friend JR took. The pictures may be viewed at rachelcookesearch.org/2year.

Tuesday, January 13

We trained another 65 women tonight at the M.U.S.T. self-defense and awareness seminar. As always, our instructor Deborah Brown did an excellent job teaching the class. All of the positive comments we received after the class proved it.

Over thirty of the women who attended last night's M.U.S.T beginers' seminar signed up for next week's advanced M.U.S.T seminar. I will post some pictures of last night's seminar tomorrow on the rachelalert.org/must web page.

We received a few more recipes today for the Rachel Alert Network cookbook. One of the recipes came from Norway!

Wednesday, January 14

I put some pictures of last night's M.U.S.T. seminar on the rachelalert.org/must web page. We are already working to schedule a February seminar. The February date and location should be announced soon on this same web page.

Janet and I will meet with new Sheriff Jim Wilson Friday afternoon. I believe he has some new ideas on Rachel's case.

Thursday, January 15

B's Gathering House has kindly agreed to host more M.U.S.T. self-defense and awareness classes. They are such nice people. We will probably hold the next beginners' seminar at B's in February and then have the March class in Austin. Several women have already contacted us with an interest in attending the next seminar.

I think Janet and I are going to have to issue a statement to candidates running for Williamson County Sheriff. We want Sheriff Wilson to pursue Rachel's case, but we don't want the candidates turning it into a political issue. They should all want to solve Rachel's case. It's part of the job. Sheriff Wilson has the case now, and we will support him as the current sheriff.

Friday, January 16

I met with the new sheriff and two of his officers today. We discussed some of the things they want to do with Rachel's case and some of the things that I think were not done. To Janet and me, regular communication between the sheriff's office and us is critical. The sheriff's office agrees with that.

We also discussed other things about the case but I don't give those details to the public. I never know who is reading my journal.

Saturday, January 17 and Sunday, January 18

I entered some of the recipes we've received into the cookbook software. We now have recipes from Finland, Norway, Germany, and several states.

A few women have called about the advanced M.U.S.T. seminar on Tuesday. We really want people to take the beginners' class before they attend the advanced class. Our instructor, Deborah Brown, teaches a lot of awareness information in the first seminar which is very valuable.

Monday, January 19

Tomorrow is the advanced M.U.S.T. seminar. We should have around forty women attend the seminar. This class is "hands on", where the women will practice some of the moves instructor Deborah Brown taught them last week.

The rachelcookesearch.org site had 136,693 visitors in 2003. Daily visitors averaged 374. I've seen an increase both last month and this month.

Tuesday, January 20

Over 30 women attended tonight's advanced M.U.S.T. seminar. The women learned and practiced different moves to break holds on them if thy're attacked. One of the hardest tasks Deborah faces is to get some women to fight back with everything they have. Most females are not raised to do this.

I will post some pictures of the advanced M.U.S.T. seminar tomorrow. We scheduled the next M.U.S.T. beginners' seminar for Sunday, February 8, from 2:00-5:00 p.m. The seminar was scheduled on Sunday to satisfy a request from second shift employees who would like to take the class.

My friend Lori has attended the last two M.U.S.T. seminars. Her sister, Colleen Reed, was abducted and murdered in 1991. One of the murderers, Alva Hank Worley, is coming up for parole. If you are interested in helping, please visit rachelcookesearch.org/worley.html.

Wednesday, January 21

I e-mailed several people who could not attend this month's M.U.S.T. seminar, informing them of the seminar on February 8. Four women have already registered for that seminar.

Janet and I were called into the Sheriff's Office today. They wanted to tell us about the new team they are putting together to work on Rachel's case. The members of the team will be announced at a press conference tomorrow afternoon.

Thursday, January 22

Today the formation of a Rachel Cooke Task Force was announced by the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. After a year and a half of urging by myself and other people, it's finally happening.

Janet and I attended the press conference this afternoon. The task force includes members of the Austin Police Department's cold case unit, a member of the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force, Byron Sage, a retired FBI agent, a detective from the Georgetown Police Department, several investigators from the Williamson County Sheriff's office, and an officer from the Texas Rangers. The task force's assignment is to review Rachel's case and find her.

Janet and I told the media that we support the task force one-hundred percent. We also asked that the task force not be criticized politically during this election year. After all, how can you criticize people for doing the right thing?

Friday, January 23

The news coverage on the task force was good last night. I put some links to news stories and a few pictures on Rachel's message board. To few them, click here

I did an in-studio interview at NEWS 8 AUSTIN today. They will probably show the interview tomorrow. I talked about the new task force and the next M.U.S.T. seminar.

Saturday, January 24

My friends, Marie and JR, and I drove to the Dallas/Fort Worth area today to attend Opal Jennings' memorial service. Six-year-old Opal disappeared in 1999. A man was convicted for her murder, but her remains were not found until last month.

Around 200-300 people attended the service. A family member shared some of the family's memories of Opal, and Opal's kindergarten teacher shared school memories. It was a very sad day, but at least Opal is home.

Sunday, January 25

I started reviewing the old clue log and my notes from 2002 on Rachel's disappearance. There are a few things I want to pass along to the new Rachel Cooke Task Force.

Monday, January 26

I want to thank the men and women in our armed forces who have supported the search for Rachel. They are deployed all over the world and include Bobby in the Korean DMZ and Jeremiah in Iraq. Many are in harm's way, but they continue to send e-mails to us and to leave message on Rachel's Message Board. Thank you!

Today was a fairly quiet day. Last week was so busy for us, we didn't have time to relax at all. This week should be calmer.

Tuesday, January 27

I confirmed with the RunTex Foundation today. RunTex is an official sponsor of the 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel. The Run/Walk will be held at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 15, 2004, at OLD SETTLERS Park in Round Rock, Texas. We also picked up a Round Rock legend as a sponsor, the Lone Star Bakery, maker of Round Rock Donuts.

The Run/Walk information page is now on-line. Visit rachelalert.org/run for more information. All proceeds from the Run/Walk go to Rachel Alert Network.

Wednesday, January 28

We scheduled the next Rachel Alert Network Officers meeting for next Tuesday. RAN has a lot of activities coming up. Several more M.U.S.T. seminars are planned, we will have a booth at the Children's Health Fair at the Dell Diamond on February 7, and the Run/Walk for Rachel is in May. All of these events need to be planned and executed.

Thursday, January 29

I put together a search map of Williamson County and some notes for the Sheriff's Office. Most of my notes are not written well, so I have to rewrite them. Hopefully the information will help the new task force.

Some little kid spammed the guest book yesterday on rachelcookesearch.org. Since the guest book only holds 200 entries, all of the real messages from people were replaced. Fortunately I made a backup of the guest book earlier this week, so I think we only lost one or two messages. I will restore the old messages this weekend.

Friday, January 30

I took a copy of our search map and some other documentation by the Sheriff's Office today. They may have some of the documents in Rachel's case file already, but I want to make sure these documents are there.

We are still taking recipes for the Rachel Alert Network cookbook. Please send recipe entries to cookbook@rachelalert.org . We want to have at least 500 recipes in the cookbook and order the books in June.

Saturday, January 31

I put together all of the handouts we will have for next Saturday's Children's Health Fair at the Dell Diamond. We will have information from the Laura Recovery Center, the Texas Attorney General's Office, the National Center for Missing and Exploited children, and some of our own Rachel Alert Network information. Deborah Brown will also be there to demonstrate some of the things she teaches in the M.U.S.T. seminars. I haven't had a lot of people register for next Sunday's M.U.S.T. seminar in Round Rock. Please spread the word to your friends. The seminar is free and is open to females ages 14 and older. More information may be found at rachelalert.org/must.