OR - Brooke Wilberger, 19, Corvallis, 24 May 2004 - #1

www.katu.com

February 28, 2005

Do You Have A Sweatshirt Like This One?

By Dan Tilkin

and KATU Web Staff

Corvallis, Ore. - Nine months have passed since Brooke Wilberger disappeared from a Corvallis apartment complex and now her family and police are trying to track down a particular piece of clothing that could possibly aid in the investigation.

When the Brigham Young University student vanished from a Corvallis apartment complex last May, police found her purse and her cell phone.

They also found her flip-flop sandals lying on the pavement, perhaps lost in a struggle.

No other signs of Brooke, none that we know of, have been found since, but police and her family do know what she was wearing the day she disappeared - a particular sweatshirt that was likely made in 1999 or 2000.

They are now putting out a call to the public to help find an identical match of that sweatshirt, described by Brooke's brother-in-law, Zak Hansen, as a medium shade of blue with the printing 'Freshjive' on it in a metallic kind of print.

A sweatshirt would seem like a simple piece of clothing to find, but the manufacturer no longer has them.

As for why the sudden interest in the sweatshirt, police say it is merely a part of their investigation and Brooke's family says they are just following their lead.

"I just know the police department would like to find one," says Hansen. "Now why they would like to get one now, I can't really speculate."

Corvallis police tell KATU News there is no urgent reason they need the sweatshirt, but having a match on hand could prove valuable if they find fabric evidence that they can compare in a crime lab.



The public request comes as Brooke's family privately endured last Thursday the nine-month point since the young woman disappeared. They also marked her 20th birthday a week ago.

"It's tough, but again our family is strong and we know she's out there and we believe in an afterlife," says Hansen. "Until we get some answers, it's tough. That's the tough part - being in limbo."

As for the sweatshirt, anyone who has one or knows where one can be found is urged to contact the Corvallis Police Department.

http://barometer.orst.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/03/11/4231d289d861b

Brooke Wilberger enjoys snowboarding and has a soft spot for frogs. That's what Zak Hansen, Brooke's brother-in-law, says.
It wasn't quite noon yet on Thursday at Oak Park Apartments. A clear sky stretched overhead, crossing higher yet with the white vapor trail of a passing jetliner. It was a bright day, but Hansen stood quietly in the parking lot, mere feet from the light pole where his sister-in-law was last seen nearly a year ago.
It was bright and sunny that day, too, Hansen said.
In the time since Brooke went missing on May 24, Hansen says the Wilberger family has been set on a "roller coaster" of emotions, with the search and abduction investigation drawing nationwide support and media coverage.

According to the Montel Website:

http://www.montelshow.com/show/upcoming.htm

His show 'Vanished' which features the stories of Maura Murray, Janis Stavros, Brooke Wilburger and Jason Jolkowski will re-air on Thursday March 24.



To find the channel and time of airing in your area go to

http://www.montelshow.com/misc/where_2_watch.htm



Let us all send an email to Montel's producers thanking them for their continued efforts on the behalf of these missing persons.

j_tuttle@montelshow.com

k_forman@montelshow.com


As Montel stated in the first airing of the show "Someone, somewhere knows something." Perhaps, one of the airings of this show will be the lightening rod that brings that "someone" forward.

Now if he'd just stop using Sylvia to "guess" where these missing people are...

Newswolf said:

http://barometer.orst.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/03/11/4231d289d861b

Brooke Wilberger enjoys snowboarding and has a soft spot for frogs. That's what Zak Hansen, Brooke's brother-in-law, says.
It wasn't quite noon yet on Thursday at Oak Park Apartments. A clear sky stretched overhead, crossing higher yet with the white vapor trail of a passing jetliner. It was a bright day, but Hansen stood quietly in the parking lot, mere feet from the light pole where his sister-in-law was last seen nearly a year ago.
It was bright and sunny that day, too, Hansen said.
In the time since Brooke went missing on May 24, Hansen says the Wilberger family has been set on a "roller coaster" of emotions, with the search and abduction investigation drawing nationwide support and media coverage.

Click to expand...

Is there any more recent news??

Also...
Her brother-in-law said something weird in his interview:
"Hansen said he figured Wilberger stubbed her toe and had gotten a ride to the doctor. The thought of Brooke being abducted had not yet entered his mind."

I got that quote from the link in your story.

I'm sorry but that is just odd ... she stubbed her toe??
Just rings a bit strange in my ears.

Prayersfm- I haven't found any new stories. Toe stubbing does sound odd.

Can someone tell me why Brooke's thread is in the Located forum? From what I can tell, she has not been found yet, is that correct?

Nevermind, I was in the wrong forum. Disregard that last posting.

update

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Technology/story?id=727402

http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=77280

Starting Sunday, KATU News will air special live coverage of the Brooke Wilberger case, one year later. Hear from her family and friends, as well as the detectives who are still searching for her.
The special coverage begins Sunday, May 22 at 11:00 p.m. and will run through Tuesday, May 24, one year to the day that Brooke disappeared.

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2005/05/22/news/top_story/news01.txt

12 months after an apparent abduction, a town remembers and hopes

http://www.kezi.com/content/contentID/10566

For everybody in Veneta... the hope is alive.
They want their Brooke... back home.
On Tuesday the Corvallis Police Department will hold a press conference to update the status of the Wilberger investigation.

http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=77343

He says there are two persons of interest in the case, but he would not elaborate. And he says, even though they are rare, he believes it is a stranger abduction.

http://www.koin.com/news.asp?ID=2729

Her parents returned to the complex Tuesday, saying that while they know the chances have diminished, they haven't given up hope of finding Wilberger alive.
"Our hope right now is not the same as it was a year ago," Cammie Wilberger said.

http://www.gtconnect.com/articles/2005/05/24/news/top_story/awilberger.txt

Investigators said they have no new leads in the case, though they continue to follow tips and other information as it is received.

"Are we any closer to solving the case today than we were May 24, 2004? Only by the standpoint that we know what hasn't happened," said Corvallis Police Capt. Ron Noble, refering to investigative work that has eliminated various persons of interest.

There are a number of things that never made a lot of sense here:

1) Why was it so difficult to establish the last time Brooke was seen?
2) When did her sister go to take the kids to preschool and how long was she gone? Why do some stories have around 9am, and others around 10am?
3) Why hasn't her sister who lives at that complex ever said one single word about this case?
4) Why was there so much attention focused on Avery Park? There was no way a perp could drag her over there across that highway w/o being seen, and no indication she would have gone over there for any reason. There is no entrance to the park near Brooke's apartment complex on 26th street, so why did anyone think that was a good place to look for her?
5) Why did it take until 3pm for someone to phone her in missing? Where did they think she was? Stubbed her toe and got a ride to the ER? Huh? From whom?
6) Why were her flip-flops in the parking lot after a "struggle" that no one saw or heard?
7) Why is LE so interested in her sweatshirt, six months later?
8) Why was Brooke wearing a sweatshirt while working on such a hot day to begin with?
9) Who was supposed to have even seen her back there? The parking lot is not visible from the highway, it is not visible from 26th street.
10) How did LE eliminate people who actually lived in the complex? First rule: search nearby.


RstJ

RobertStJames said:

There are a number of things that never made a lot of sense here:

<snip>

2) When did her sister go to take the kids to preschool and how long was she gone? Why do some stories have around 9am, and others around 10am?
3) Why hasn't her sister who lives at that complex ever said one single word about this case?

<snip>

RstJ

Click to expand...

The sister of whom you speak was on Montel along with a younger sister and brother who still live at home. The episode featured not only Brooke, but also Maura Murray, Jason Jolkowski and another woman, whose name escapes me at the moment.

While I am unable to recall her description of the day's events, I do recall for the first time that the timeline which presented made more sense to me than any of the other information I had to that date.

With prayers for Brooke and her family.

Peabody said:

The sister of whom you speak was on Montel along with a younger sister and brother who still live at home. The episode featured not only Brooke, but also Maura Murray, Jason Jolkowski and another woman, whose name escapes me at the moment.

While I am unable to recall her description of the day's events, I do recall for the first time that the timeline which presented made more sense to me than any of the other information I had to that date.

With prayers for Brooke and her family.

Click to expand...

No, that wasn't her:

In November, three of Brooke's five siblings - Shannon, Spencer and Jessica - appeared on "The Montel Williams Show," in a segment that aired in February about families who have had loved ones vanish.

That's the sister who managed the apartment complex across the street, not the one Brooke was working for that day.

This one:

Brooke Wilberger returned from her freshman year at BYU near the end of April last year. She was working for her sister Stephani and Stephani's husband, at the Oak Park Apartments the couple managed, washing lamp posts about 11 a.m. the last time anyone who knew her saw her.


When did it become 11am? All the posters said 10am, not 11am.

RstJ

PrayersForMaura said:

Is there any more recent news??

Also...
Her brother-in-law said something weird in his interview:
"Hansen said he figured Wilberger stubbed her toe and had gotten a ride to the doctor. The thought of Brooke being abducted had not yet entered his mind."

I got that quote from the link in your story.

I'm sorry but that is just odd ... she stubbed her toe??
Just rings a bit strange in my ears.

Click to expand...

Really? You mean strange like how NewsPerson was claiming that the immediate family was ruled out by mid-day the next day despite the fact we have never heard what their alibis are?

Or strange like the last person to see her never once getting near a reporter?

Or strange like the ever-shifting time which she was last seen?

Or strange like the total lack of any witness statements?

Or strange like the "freshjive" sweatshirt she was wearing that nevertheless was not mentioned in any early story.

Or strange like the 5-6 POIs who have gone absolutely nowhere?

Or strange like the fact that nobody seems to have called Brooke's mother until 6pm that night, 3hrs after police were contacted, and even then it was *her* calling *them*.


Lotta strange things here, no?


RstJ

02-04-2005, 08:43 PM
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The purpose of this Forum is Information and Support. Opinions and discussion should be posted on the Missing Discussion Forum.
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englishleigh said:

Whose cadaver dog was it that was used in the basement of that house?? Was it the Corvallis police dept.'s dog?? I am so confused...it sounds like to me that Corvallis is just now starting to jump on the idea that this may be their man with regards to Brooke. Who was it that said the concrete patch looked "too old" to be related to Brooke? I have read back but is "LE" Corvallis or the Benton Co. sheriff's dept.??? I want this checked out by Corvallis immediately, b/c it seems to me they have their man and that Brooke is sadly buried in that basement under concrete. The Wilberger family has waited long enough (too long) to find out what happened to Brooke.

Click to expand...

Is Evans the same guy that they were looking at when Brooke first disappeared? You know, if he dumped Brooke in a hole and poured it full of cement the cadaver dogs probably wouldn't smell anything. They should remove that cement just in case. If I were Brooke's parent I would be demanding that they dig that cement up.

Is Evans the same guy that they were looking at when Brooke first disappeared? You know, if he dumped Brooke in a hole and poured it full of cement the cadaver dogs probably wouldn't smell anything. They should remove that cement just in case. If I were Brooke's parent I would be demanding that they dig that cement up.


this may surprise you, but a well trained dog would be able to detect if anything was under the concrete. cadaver dogs in the past have detected graves as far back as those that were buried during the civil war. if they suspect that is where she is buried, I would for sure take the dogs back, instead of the same dog use at least two different ones, one to hit on the scent one to verify the other one. if the concrete looked old, that doesn't really mean it is old concrete. first of all looking at concrete is not a way of determining its age. if he made a batch of concrete in a wheel barrow that was a dirty then the mixture would be stained with dirt and mud, thus giving the mix a older appearence when it cured. I sure thought when they had him in jail that this was the end of all this. I still have my suspicions on this guy, he looks to me like one person that could do something such as this. heck just dig the stuff up, after all it is just a patch.

dannyodie said:

Is Evans the same guy that they were looking at when Brooke first disappeared? You know, if he dumped Brooke in a hole and poured it full of cement the cadaver dogs probably wouldn't smell anything. They should remove that cement just in case. If I were Brooke's parent I would be demanding that they dig that cement up.


this may surprise you, but a well trained dog would be able to detect if anything was under the concrete. cadaver dogs in the past have detected graves as far back as those that were buried during the civil war. if they suspect that is where she is buried, I would for sure take the dogs back, instead of the same dog use at least two different ones, one to hit on the scent one to verify the other one. if the concrete looked old, that doesn't really mean it is old concrete. first of all looking at concrete is not a way of determining its age. if he made a batch of concrete in a wheel barrow that was a dirty then the mixture would be stained with dirt and mud, thus giving the mix a older appearence when it cured. I sure thought when they had him in jail that this was the end of all this. I still have my suspicions on this guy, he looks to me like one person that could do something such as this. heck just dig the stuff up, after all it is just a patch.

Click to expand...

I posted something that could be of interest in the discussion area of the missing. I titled the thread Brooke Wilberger.