Misty Donna Copsey was a 14-year-old girl who went missing from Washington in 1992. Her photo is shown age-progressed to 45 years. She was declared legally dead in 2000.
Case[]
Misty Copsey vanished on September 17, 1992, from Tacoma, Washington. She had spent the day at the Puyallup fairgrounds with a friend, Trina Bevard, and had missed the 8:40 P.M. Pierce Transit bus back to her neighborhood. She called her mother and suggested that she would get a ride with an 18-year-old friend named Rheuban Schmidt. Misty's mother told her that she did not trust Rheuban and asked her to get a ride home with someone else.
Misty decided to walk the eight miles home. She was last seen walking towards the westbound onramp on Highway 512 around 10 P.M. She never arrived home and was reported missing by her mother the following day.
A proper investigation was not started until months after Misty was last seen. Authorities initially believed she had run away. A female classmate of Misty's claimed that Misty called her two days after her disappearance and said she was okay. Another female classmate reported a sighting of Misty on September 21. Based on these statements, authorities closed the case. They also erroneously reported that Misty was no longer missing.
Rheuban said that Misty had called him to ask for a ride home but could not because he didn't have enough gasoline. However, his roommate claimed that Rheuban left shortly after the call ended, and he had assumed that Rheuban would pick Misty up.
When questioned, Trina stated that Misty had called Rheuban again and tried to convince him to go to her house to get money for gas. However, Rheuban continued to refuse as he did not have enough gas to even get to Misty's home. Trina stated that she and Misty decided she would walk home and Misty would take the bus, and they separated around 8:45 P.M. This story was later discovered to be a lie; Trina had gotten a ride home from Michael Rhyner, her 23-year-old boyfriend. Michael had been accused of abducting and raping an 11-year-old girl at knifepoint when he was 16, although no charges were filed in the case.
Trina had offered to let Misty leave with her and Michael, but she refused as she didn't trust Michael. Trina arrived home without incident. Investigators originally theorized that Michael may have returned to the fairgrounds and convinced Misty to ride home with him. However, Michael was later ruled out as a suspect after passing a polygraph test.
Rheuban was questioned again after Trina's story changed, and he claimed that he couldn't remember what had happened after Misty's second phone call, which caused him to experience blackouts. He said he woke up at his grandmother's Enumclaw, Washington residence the next morning. Investigators asked him if he could have blacked out and harmed Misty, and Rheuban said that he didn't know. A polygraph exam was inconclusive.
Rheuban is a person of interest in Misty's case. After her disappearance, multiple people claimed Rheuban had told them that he knew where Misty's body was. He said that she was buried on his grandmother's farm, six miles away from where her clothes were found. When questioned again, he admitted he made these statements but claimed they were untrue. He said that he had lied to get people off his back. He also took a second polygraph test, which he passed. In 1996, Rheuban was accused of rape by a friend of Misty. However, she decided not to press charges two weeks later. In 2000, Rheuban was arrested for theft. In 2006, Rheuban's wife took out a protective order against him after he allegedly threatened to kill her and burn down her house.
Police conducted several searches for Misty in 1992 and 1993. On February 7, 1993, a small private search party found Misty's underwear, jeans, and one of her socks in a ditch near the intersection of State Highway 410 and Weyco Road. They appeared to have been out in the elements for an extended period and covered in mud. Forensic examination revealed that there was no blood or semen on the clothing, although there were three paint chips on the jeans. The paint chips were later lost. In 2009, testing found DNA belonging to an unknown male on her jeans. Misty's hair pick and toothbrush, both items she would have carried in her purse, were discovered approximately half a mile away from her clothing on February 20, 1993.
A man named Corey Bober, who lived in the area, believed that Misty's case was related to the murders of Kimberley DeLange and Anna Chebetnoy, two teenagers who disappeared in 1988 and 1990, respectively. Their bodies were found within 100 feet of each other. Anna was killed two years and one month after Kimberly, and Misty was killed two years and one month after Anna. Corey believed that this must be a pattern. He was in contact with Misty's mother for years and suggested that the police search where Misty's clothing was found, as it was close to where Anna and Kimberley had been. Police believe Misty's case may be linked to the unsolved murders of Kimberley and Anna.
Both the police and Misty's mother suspected that Corey was involved in Misty's disappearance because of his unusual behavior. He denied this and offered to take a polygraph test, although he later canceled it. Corey has been to prison for drug charges but has no history of violence. He is known to have mental health problems; some accounts state that he has agoraphobia, while other sources say he has OCD. However, he has a partial alibi and is not considered a serious suspect.
Characteristics[]
- Blond hair.
- Green eyes.
- Mole under her right eye.
- Scar under her right knee.
- Healed fractures to both forearms.
- Three fillings and a root canal.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Navy blue pullover sweatshirt.
- Blue jeans.
- Navy socks.
- Brown suede shoes.
- Purse with an electronic organizer in it.
- Misty's blue jeans, brown suede shoes, and one navy sock have since been located.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- Misty Copsey at NamUs
- Misty Copsey at NCMEC
- Misty Copsey at the Charley Project
- Misty Copsey at the Doe Network