My July 2002 Journal by Robert Cooke

The Search for Rachel, a father's journal

Monday, July 1

A girl who was kidnapped in Florida escaped, and while authorities were closing in on her abductor, he committed suicide. During the search of the man's residence, several items were found from other girls that the man had kidnapped. Some of the items found in the man's residence were from girls abducted in Texas. I gave this information to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office.

I am putting a videotape together of Rachel. The videotape will contain various scenes of Rachel in high school and after graduation from high school. I want to make several copies of the videotape to give to local and national media.

Tuesday, July 2

It rained all day today. I spent my time finishing the videotapes of Rachel and her disappearance. Tomorrow I will send them to a friend to have multiple copies made.

Forumsforjustice.org made a new area or thread for the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. I think it will be a positive thing for people on the forum to see what a law enforcement agency does. I believe Sergeant Lummas from the Sheriff's Office will provide the information for this forum. I will write more on this later when the details are finalized.

The second order of 500 Help Find Rachel Cooke bumper stickers is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I am getting several e-mails from people asking for one of the stickers. Mailbox etc at 4500 Williams Drive, Suite 212 in Georgetown (by the new HEB) has been kind enough to hand bumper stickers out for us. The stickers are free as long as people put them on their cars.

Wednesday, July 3

I spoke with my friend, Lori, this afternoon. We discussed the formation of the task force to find Rachel. We both agreed that we would have to wait until after July 4th to get any federal agencies to sign on. They have their hands full now.

The new order of 500 additional bumper stickers arrived today. One design contains a yellow ribbon on one side and Rachel's picture on the other side. I will start distributing the stickers immediately.

Forums For Justice, People Against Violent Crime, and Crime/Punishment are all now encouraging people to contact AMERICA'S MOST WANTED to ask that a story on Rachel be run. They are going to hear from us over and over again until they run a story or at least display Rachel's flyer for 20-30 seconds. The support for Rachel is growing fast.

Thursday, July 4

I spent the afternoon with my family. We had a nice meal and fellowship.

Tonight I wrote my latest journal entries and got caught up on e-mail. Janet and I will be speaking again at the next search and rescue class sponsored by the Austin Police Department. Our friend, Officer Jim Minton, is coordinating the class again.

Friday, July 5

I spent most of the day buying a new car to replace Rachel's car, which was totaled by hail damage. If the body shop had not taken it completely apart, I would have kept her car. I don't feel right getting rid of the car.

My sister Elaine and I met to discuss the moment of silence that we are asking people to observe on July 10. That day will mark six months since Rachel disappeared. It has been six months of hell for Janet, JoAnn, and me. Maybe a few people will take the time to remember her on that day.

Saturday, July 6

Today I started to clean out the garage. A lot of Rachel's things are stored there. I brought them back from San Diego in February, and I need to make room in a closet for them. There are a lot of Run/Walk for Rachel t-shirts and search-related items that I also need to move around.

I have been reading the reports about the Florida serial abductor, Richard Evonitz. He killed himself after his latest victim escaped. Evontiz has ties to many states, including Texas. He is thought to have abducted girls while he was in the Navy. It's a scary thought to have a serial abductor moving around the U.S.

Evonitz committed suicide before the police and FBI closed in on him. We may never know how many victims he had.

Sunday, July 7

I received a phone call from my friend Sara today. She has been in contact with Tim Miller, the Director of Texas EquuSearch. Tim has been searching for a missing girl in Orange county named Dannarriah Finley. Dannarriah was abducted from her bedroom on July 4th.

Tim told Sara that he wants to visit my wife Janet and me on Wednesday. He knows that will be a hard day for us because that day will mark six months since Rachel disappeared.

The FBI has placed Rachel on the bottom of their home web page: http://www.fbi.gov/ I don't know how long Rachel's picture will stay there, but I am happy that someone at the bureau cared enough to get it approved.

My sister Elaine completed the press announcement asking people to observe a moment of silence on July 10.

REMEMBER RACHEL
On July 10th, Robert and Janet Cooke will mark yet another sad milestone - six months since their beautiful daughter, Rachel Cooke, went jogging on a bright January morning and never returned.

The Cooke family asks everyone to join them in a moment of silence at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 10. If you are unable to observe this special moment, Robert and Janet ask that you "Remember Rachel" in your own way. Turn on your headlights, or tie a yellow ribbon on your antenna. Hug your children; teach them ways to be safe. Never forget that whoever took Rachel is still out there.

Monday, July 8

A member of Forums for Justice talked to an interstate trucking company, and they agreed to put Rachel's bumper sticker on every one of their 16,000 trucks. I will probably order 500 stickers at a time.

I am sad to hear that the body of four-year-old Dannarriah Finley may have been found 20 miles from her home. Texas EquuSearch has been looking for her since July 4, but the body was found farther away by some oil workers.

Tuesday, July 9

My wife Janet and I met with the Sheriff's Office this morning. They have assigned a new investigator to lead Rachel's case. Lt. Cutler and his captain thought that bringing in a new person might provide a fresh outlook on the case.

Lt. Cutler and I also talked about the task force that Janet and I want formed to help investigate Rachel's case. It looks like I will be responsible for providing members for the task force. Lori Bible and I are working on that, but we will need the Sheriff's help.

Two television stations are coming to our house tomorrow morning to interview Janet and me. They want to discuss issues like how we are holding up after six months.

Wednesday, July 10

Six months have passed since Rachel disappeared. For six months we have searched for her. For six months we have found nothing. What are we doing wrong? How can we do it better? I wish that God would tell me.

Our morning began early. NEWS 8 sent out their live truck at 5:00 a.m. The cameraman had trouble getting a good signal to and from the station so we had to move to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office in Georgetown. NEWS 8 did two live reports with me at 7:00 and 7:30 a.m., and then my wife Janet did two more live reports after 8:00 a.m. while I returned home to work. We both explained about today's moment of silence for Rachel and all other missing persons at 11:30 a.m.

At 11:00 a.m. NEWS 8, KXAN, and KEYE came to our house and filmed a group of friends and family as we walked the last 200 yards of Rachel's jogging path. We started our walk at the point where Rachel was last seen the morning of January 10.

After the first three television stations left, KVUE and FOX 7 drove up. Both stations interviewed Janet and me at the same time.

My friend Sara, Janet, and I had dinner with Tim Miller, the director of Texas EquuSearch. Tim told us it was confirmed that the body found was that of four-year-old Dannarriah Finley. We are all sad about the poor girl.

Sara, Janet, Tim, and I discussed the problems with finding missing people and how the process could be made better. We all agree that some sort of national database needs to be put in place to inform law enforcement agencies of missing persons and fugitives. An alert system is also needed to bring together all of the resources required when a person becomes missing. This alert should be used for all people regardless of age, race, sex, income, or location.

Thursday, July 11

A reporter from the WILLIAMSON COUNTY SUN newspaper interviewed me by phone today. She wants to write a story about the possible new task force for Rachel's case. The reporter is also going to interview my friend, Lori Bible.

I ordered 500 bumper stickers for Dick Stanley Trucks. They travel interstate, and placing the bumper stickers on their trucks will put Rachel's picture in several other states.

There is still no word from AMERICA'S MOST WANTED. I was hoping that they would reply to the letter that People Against Violent Crime and I sent.

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES informed me that the section on Rachel will air on August 12. I believe the program broadcasts at 7:00 p.m. here. I will add more details on their program later.

Friday, July 12

I received the videotapes that were copied by a friend. They contain media reports on Rachel. Several people have asked for a copy. The second tape should arrive soon. That tape will have home video of Rachel singing, running, and participating in other activities. I plan to give several of the videotapes to the media and friends.

The server for rachelalert.org is ready. I put some initial information on the site. A request to have the name rachelalert.org assigned to that server has been turned in, and it should be on-line within a week. When that is done, people can view the information on the site.

I decided not to do a search today so I can work on the new Internet site. Later I will review the search records and decide where we need to search next.

Saturday, July 13

I spent the day going over all of the information that we have collected on missing persons' cases and advice given to us by others. The reasons for doing this are two-fold. First, I want to see if we missed anything. Second, I want to combine some of the best information and our personal experiences into a document to display on the Rachel Alert Network web site.

It would be nice to have the initial document on suggestions for families and friends of missing persons ready by the end of this week. Janet and I are speaking at another Austin Police Department Search and Rescue class. The document will summarize some of the things we will talk about.

I designed an initial home page for the Rachel Alert Network. The goal of the design is to keep it simple, functional, and nice looking. I've always hated fancy web pages that take over a minute to download when connected over a modem.

Sunday, July 14

Today I worked on rearranging Rachel's clothes again. She has quite a lot of them. I am packing them up to put in the closets of our house. It is a hard thing to do because it brings back many memories.

So far, I have mailed some of Rachel's bumper stickers to 5 other states. When Dick Stanley Trucking puts stickers on their trucks, her picture will reach even farther.

The design of the Rachel Alert Network home page is almost done. I want the format to flow from page to page like rachelcookesearch.org does. The site will never be finished, but we should have a lot of good information and links to other sites posted there by the end of the month.

Monday, July 15

One of the members of Forums for Justice corresponded with AMERICA'S MOST WANTED about Rachel. AMW said they will respond to the request by mail. I think by this time everyone working there should know Rachel's name.

I gave a few more leads to the Sheriff's Office today. I am hoping that something breaks soon on the case. It seems like keeping a good record of everything that I give to the Sheriff's Office is a good idea, no matter how small the lead is.

Tuesday, July 16

During lunch I began working on the "Guidelines to Follow" section of rachelalert.org. This section will contain helpful information for families and friends of missing persons. Information will be included that I have read, was told, and what I personally experienced with Rachel's disappearance. I feel this will be the most important section of the web site. Again, the goal is to have the rachelalert.org site operating by the end of July.

Our hope is that between the "Guidelines to Follow", the links to other organizations, and any other information on the web site, we can provide help for some family or friend to bring their missing loved one home safely.

Gloria from the Williamson County Sheriff's Office called me today. Sgt. Maxi is checking out a few of the leads that I have turned in to them over the past weeks. I plan to continue talking to people and reviewing the records that I have on Rachel. I'm not done yet, and I haven't forgotten about Rachel. I never will.

Wednesday, July 17

I was very sad to hear the news about five-year-old Samantha Runnion today. The poor girl was abducted outside of her home while playing with some other kids. Her body was found today almost 75 miles from her home. This has to stop! We need to find these lowlife animals and take them out of society. They do not deserve to live among us. To quote John Walsh: "We need to hunt these animals down, like the dogs they are".

Travis and the surrounding counties are implementing the Amber Alert system. An Amber Alert uses the emergency broadcast system and other methods to notify the public when a child is missing. It is a good system when used properly. The Amber Alert does have one major flaw: an alert for missing children 17 and younger. This is another form of age discrimination that must stop!

NEWS 8 AUSTIN interviewed me today about the Amber Alert. I explained that I am in full support of the Alert but would like to see it changed to cover every person, not just children. I went on to explain that if an Amber Alert had been present in January, it would not have been available for Rachel because she was 19 at the time. On the other hand, my younger daughter JoAnn would have been eligible because she was 17. I love both of my daughters equally; they both deserve the best.

I do not see any reason to discriminate against anyone for any reason. Since the 1960s thousands of people have worked hard to try and give everyone in America equal rights. Limiting the ages on the Amber Alert goes against those important values. Why not make the Amber Alert cover all people? Why not make it the best system that it can be?

Thursday, July 18

Trade Secret in Northcross Mall has agreed to give out Rachel Cooke bumper stickers. Northcross Mall is located at the corner of Burnet Road and Anderson Lane in North Austin.

Mail Boxes etc, 4500 Williams Drive Suite 212, in Georgetown is another source for stickers. The bumper stickers are free. We just ask that if you take one, please put it on your car. My wife Janet and I want to thank both stores for doing this.

RUNNER'S WORLD magazine has agreed to feature something on Rachel's disappearance on their daily web site. I will post the address when I find out what it is.

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES is still scheduled to air a short segment on Rachel. It will be broadcast on August 12. I believe it airs at 7:00 p.m. here, but check your local listings.

The finding of Samantha Runnion this week and Dannarriah Finley last week is making me work harder and faster on rachelalert.org. If we can help just one missing boy or girl, it will be worth all of the work. I am sure that the advice that we are offering will also help the family and friends. Maybe, just maybe, we can help take one of these animals that abduct our kids off of the streets.

Friday, July 19

I wrote down some topics that I want to cover in tomorrow's Austin Police Department Search and Rescue class. My wife Janet and I will speak about what it's like to be a victim. We will also tell the class how appreciated the search volunteers are.

Over one thousand people were involved in the search for Rachel. People volunteered to search, debrief searchers, and serve or provide food. Janet and I appreciate every one of them. They put their lives on hold while we looked for Rachel.

Saturday, July 20

My wife Janet and I spoke to the Austin P.D. Search and Rescue class today. We recognized many of the people in the class. Several Travis County Search and Rescue volunteers and others who were attending the class had helped search in January for Rachel.

Janet started our talk. She talked about the helplessness and lack of information that we experienced at the beginning. We only knew to call law enforcement. We didn't know about all of the volunteer organizations that are available to help.

I talked about the searches themselves. Another topic that I covered was what kind of people the audience might encounter in a SAR operation. The type of people includ overly jealous individuals and psychics. I also talked about how rumors and false information get started and asked their help in stopping these on future searches.

KEYE TV filmed our speech and later interviewed Officer Minton, who is in charge of the SAR training, and Janet and me. I think it's good to let the public know that these programs exist.

After speaking at the SAR class, my friend JR and I drove to Houston. Upon arriving, we joined the forumsforjustice.org webmaster Leia. Leia flew to Houston from San Francisco to attend the Texas EquuSearch fundraiser. The three of us drove to the fundraiser together.

Saturday's fundraiser was almost over when we arrived. Two more members of forumsforjustice.org attended the fundraiser, too.

Tim Miller, the director of Texas EquuSearch, and I talked a long time. Tim wants to link up all of the missing person support web sites. If they all unite, better and faster responses to missing person cases can be achieved. Even some federal grants might be acquired.

Tim and I also talked about how it shouldn't matter what age a missing person is. Everyone should be provided with equal alerts, law enforcement, and searches. A person's value as a human being should not be decreased when she reaches age 18. Tim's team is currently searching for a 23-year-old woman and is about to start searching for a missing 81-year-old Alzheimer's victim. Many other organizations won't even post missing person flyers of people over the age of 18, much less help find them.

Sunday, July 21

Today was another busy day. My friend JR and I spent most of the day at the Texas EquuSearch fundraiser. While at the event, I was able to talk to U.S. Congressman Nick Lampson. Congressman Lampson has done a lot of hard work involving missing person cases. He works closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. I explained to the Congressman what my wife Janet and I plan to do with the Rachel Alert System and how we plan to work with Texas EquuSearch, Gabriel's Gifts, People Against Violent Crime, and other organizations.

I met several other families of missing persons. Texas EquuSearch is currently searching for Sarah Trusty, who disappeared on July 12. Many of the Texas EquuSearch members searched for Sarah during the day and then attended the fundraiser in the late afternoon. I spoke with Sarah's parents and husband for a short time. They are still in shock, so I told them to grab me later if they wanted to talk more.

Before the auction, Tim Miller invited all of the families and friends of missing persons to come to the stage. Several of us spoke. I ended my speech with an analogy. When I first met Tim Miller, he told Janet and me that we were now a members of a special club - a club that no one wants to join.

I said that it's time to reduce the new members of that club. It's time to try and stop new membership. It's time to bring missing persons back to their loved ones, and it's time to put the people who abduct them in prison and keep them there.

Janet donated a painting to the auction. JR and I bid on several items, and we even won a few of them. I think the auction was a big success. One hundred percent of the money raised will go toward finding missing persons.

Near the end of the auction, I spoke with former FBI profiler, Mark Young, for about an hour. Mr. Young informally helped out with Rachel's case at the beginning. He still has a list of things that may help find Rachel or the person that took her.

JR and I left the fundraiser around 6:30 p.m. We arrived in Georgetown at 10:15 p.m. It was a very long but a very rewarding day.

Monday, July 22

Today is a lot slower day than yesterday. I had to catch up on my journal and a lot of things at work.

Tonight my search and investigation team met with me. We discussed possible future searches and the information that we had gathered from interviews and searches. A decision was made to go back through the records and prioritize any leads that were turned into the Sheriff's Office.

We will start with the highest priority leads and follow up with the Sheriff's Office to make sure they were completed. This is being done just to make sure that something simple was not lost.

Tuesday, July 23

My wife Janet and I attended a press conference on the new missing person alert system the Williamson County Sheriff's Office purchased. The alert system is very powerful and is not very expensive.

After a missing person report is submitted, the system sends out pages, FAXes, e-mails and even creates missing person web pages. All of this is done in less than a minute. Under normal circumstances, the alerts go out to law enforcement, fire departments, the media, and other destinations within a 100 mile radius. The size of the area to broadcast the alert can be increased with the click of a button.

The best part of the alert system is that it does not tie the hands of law enforcement by restricting the missing person's age or other circumstances. I have said many times that older teen and adult missing persons deserve the same alert as younger teens.

The Williamson County Sheriff's Office received permission to name the system the Rachel Abduction Central Alert system. More information may be found at http://www.childalert.org/aboutaca.htm .

Janet and I are so impressed with the alert software system that we decided to offer to donate an alert system license both to the Austin Police Department and the Travis County Sheriff's Office. We hope that both agencies will seriously consider the offer.

Wednesday, July 24

The Williamson Country Sheriff's Office issued the first Rachel Alert this morning. A girl in Cedar Park has been missing for two days. She was last seen getting into a car with two guys on Monday. The girl had not taken her wallet, keys, or any clothes with her. The Rachel Alert went out quickly, and the response from both law enforcement and the media was fast.

After two hours, the girl's father found her. She was a runaway and was staying at a friend's house. It's unfortunate that the first Rachel Alert turned out to be a runaway, but I'm glad that the girl returned home safely.

Two different law enforcement agencies decided the alert was necessary. I am not going to try and second guess them. Sergeant Lummas from the Williamson County Sheriff's Office said that it is better to have issued an alert for what turned out to be a runaway, than to not have issued an alert and have an actual abduction occur. I agree with him.

Thursday, July 25

NEWS 8 AUSTIN interviewed me today. They wanted to know what my opinion was on yesterday's first use of the Rachel Alert System. I told them that the system did what it was supposed to do. The notifications went out fast, and the responses were quick.

NEWS 8 is calling the alert a false alarm because the girl turned out to be a runaway. I told them that the Williamson County Sheriff's Office did not know for certain that she was a runaway or that she was abducted. I also reminded them that the girl had been missing for 2 days without a word.

Anyone can use hindsight now and say that the alert should not have been sent out. The point is, all of the facts were not present until the girl was returned home.

A "smoking gun" principle might have to be used to determine if a Rachel Alert is issued. If a witness sees someone abducted, if a person's abandoned car is found, or if an abduction crime scene is present would all be examples of when an alert would definitely be issued. None of these clues was present with Rachel's abduction. This makes it really hard to decide.

It is up to law enforcement to make the decision of when and how to issue an alert. If a runaway is suspected, they could issue a law enforcement only alert. In this case, only notifications to law enforcement agencies would be sent. The media, and thus the public, would not be notified.

Friday, July 26

Another little girl was abducted and murdered today. When will this stop? How can we stop it? Poor Casey Williamson had no chance, just like Samantha Runnion. These perverts are so sick and are such cowards. What I wouldn't do if I found one of them.

It's time to calm down. It's time to take a step back and think. How can my wife Janet and I help? We need to work with parents to help keep their children safe. There has to be a way to let kids still be kids without locking them indoors all of the time.

These abduction creeps should be the ones that have to worry about their safety. Criminals with a sexual assault record should be watched closely. They shouldn't be allowed near any children. It's time for them to lose some rights. Little Samantha and Casey had no rights. They were abused and then thrown away like garbage. This has to stop!

Tim Miller, the director of Texas EquuSearch, appeared on Connie Chung's CNN program tonight. He expressed his frustration at not having enough time to work on abduction prevention because he is always searching for a missing person. Tim would like to try and stop abductions before they happen.

Saturday, July 27

My friend JR and I drove around Williamson County looking for potential areas to search. We found a few areas, so I will probably have a search this next weekend.

I received an e-mail from the sister of Kent Jacobs in North Carolina. Kent is 42 years old, but has the mind of a 9-year-old. Kent disappeared on March 10, 2002, and his family and friends have been looking for him since that date. I added Kent's web site to rachelcookesearch.org.

JR got to work fast and notified Bill Bickel, and Bill added Kent's site to his web site. JR is also adding Kent to forumsforjustice.org. I e-mailed Kent's sister and told her where we had the buttons and bumper stickers made for Rachel.

I was happy to hear that all 9 miners in Pennsylvania were rescued today. It is really nice to hear some good news for a change. Many people worked very hard night and day to save them, and they did!

Sunday, July 28

I worked on some changes to the links page of rachelcookesearch.org. My goal is to be able to put pictures and links to other missing persons on the right side of the page. I originally was thinking about putting the pictures on the home page, but that would make the page too "busy".

Another female body was found near Houston. It is feared that the body is that of 23-year-old Sarah Trusty, whom Texas EquusSearch has been searching for the last two weeks. I spoke to Sarah's parents and her husband last week. They were still in shock at that time, and this latest information will make the situation even worse for them.

Monday, July 29

I am on vacation this week, so I am going to use the time to mark new search areas and finish the rachelalert.org web site. My sister Elaine has been helping me with the Guidelines to Follow section of the web site. This section will give families and friends of missing persons recommended suggestions that my wife Janet and I have documented. The guidelines for the first 48 hours are completed. Now I am working on the media section. We have worked very hard to keep Rachel in the news, and I am sharing what we have done to accomplish that.

After reviewing the search records from January and thereafter, I have to decided to search the area around our neighborhood again. Many of the search volunteers have said they think this is necessary, and I agree with them.

I was sorry to hear today that the body found in Texas City yesterday was that of Sarah Trusty. Sarah disappeared on July 12, 2002. She was only 23 years old and had been married just three weeks. I sent Sarah's family Janet's and my condolences. No words can describe the pain that they are feeling, but Janet and I know that pain very well.

Tuesday, July 30

My sister Elaine sent me the final corrections for the media section on rachelalert.org. I added that section to the information that was already on the web site. Tomorrow Fox 7 is interviewing me and previewing the site. I want to have as much information as possible on the site to show them.

I have been exchanging e-mails with missing person Kent Jacob's sister. I have provided her with a lot of contacts that might be helpful in her search for Kent. Kent's sister also added a link to Rachel's web site on Kent's web site.

Wednesday, July 31

This morning I was a guest interviewee in a journalism class at Austin Community College. The students practiced asking me questions about Rachel and her disappearance. I feel that it gave the students a good chance to get some practical experience with a real "victim". KVUE might even put some of their articles on kvue.com.

At 2:00 p.m. Fox 7 interviewed me, and I demonstrated the rachelalert.org site. I explained that my wife Janet and I decided to make the web site to help other families in a similar situation. Having one place to go to find out information and pointers to other organizations would have helped us greatly if we had had that information available back in January.

I sent out e-mails informing people about this Saturday's search. We will meet at Faith Lutheran Church at 8:00 a.m. and should be finished around noon. With the high temperatures, I like to have the searches complete before it reaches 90 degrees.