MI MI - James Cooper, 16, Monroe, 25 Oct 1996

sweetpea657

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2005
Messages
126
Reaction score
10
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: October 25, 1996 from Monroe, Michigan
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: December 22, 1979
Age: 16 years old
Height and Weight: 5'11, 155 pounds

Distinguishing Characteristics: Light brown to blond hair, blue eyes. Cooper may have a moustache, beard or a goatee. He wore braces on his teeth at the time of his 1996 disappearance. Cooper has a raised chicken pox scar on his right arm and a scar on his left arm.

Details of Disappearance
Cooper departed from his family's residence in Monroe, Michigan during the morning hours of October 25, 1996 for school. He never returned home and has not been seen again. Cooper was not carrying any identification or cash with him at the time of his disappearance. He never retrieved a paycheck from his after-school job before he vanished. Cooper's case remains unsolved.

Some agencies classify Cooper's case as that of an Endangered Runaway.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/cooper_james.html

 
Parents hope son who disappeared in 1996 returns

It was a Friday morning in late October and James Cooper, a 16-year-old Monroe High School student, was still in bed, clearly headed for tardiness.

"James!" his mother yelled. "Why are you still here?"

[snip]

James disappeared without a trace almost 15 years ago.

It was October 25, 1996, on that Friday morning that Mrs. Cooper yelled for her son to get ready for school. He left that day without his wallet, money or identification. It was the last time she or any family member saw him again.

"He had nothing with him," Mrs. Cooper said. "Just the clothes on his back."

[snip]

The family believes James ran away. But not having any contact all these years leads to frustration, sadness, anger and all the other emotions parents possibly could endure in such a situation.

More: http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110327/NEWS01/703279975
 
What happened to James?

Foul play, suicide, starting a new life somewhere else? It's been almost 17 years now...I hope his parents will get answers one day.
 
James has been missing for 17 years this month.

cooper_james.jpg
 
I am curious as to why they think he ran away. Wouldn't leaving money behind (the uncashed paycheck), wallet, etc. seem to indicate the opposite? Did he take any clothes with him?

Why did they not suspect he headed off to school and accepted a ride from some creep in order to get to school on time?
 
According to his Charley profile, James got into an argument with his parents the night before he vanished and had been rebellious, experimenting with marijuana in the months prior.

Maybe he ran away at first and later got killed by some shady people. Still weird he would't have taken anything with him if he had planned to run away.

I think it's strange there's only this one picture of him available, and the age-progression. His parents seem to still be alive and seem to care as well so why not put up some more pictures? I mean, to me that would also be like keeping the memory of my MP alive somehow. Always sad when I only see one picture on MP profiles all over the net.
 
I see that being a reason...but still- If he disappeared in the middle of the night or shortly after the argument I can see the "runaway" aspect. But to go to sleep, sleep through the night and have your mom come to wake you up- that doesn't sound like a kid running away in the heat of the moment. And if he had planned to leave I would think he would have taken money with him.

Could this have been a minor drug thing gone bad? Like he dropped by a house to buy some MJ on the way to school and something bad happened?

I would like to see more pictures as well- but I am guessing his parents might be too old to use the net.
 
I've thought of the minor drug thing gone bad as well. You think that after all these years some people might have come forward and told others or LE itself what they have heard/know etc.
 
Family upset about a sign that was placed at a Monroe corner. The sign has been removed and is being held as "evidence" -- according to LE, there is no evidence the missing young man was harmed.

The family of James Cooper, a Monroe man who has been missing for 19 years, is upset that a crude, homemade sign claiming he was killed was placed at a busy downtown intersection. The words “In loving memory of James Cooper who was murdered and hid the day he went missing at Greenwood Apartments” were hand-written on a piece of cardboard that was attached to a street sign on W. Elm Ave. near N. Monroe St.

Read more at: http://www.monroenews.com/news/2016/feb/02/family-missing-man-upset-about-sign/
 
The family has since moved, but kept the same phone number, hoping James will call one day.

Link to an old article that has more info:

"One day he's gonna call"
The night before, James and his parents argued about him driving the car without their permission, especially since he only had a permit. And it wasn't much of an argument really; it was more like a confrontation between concerned parents and their increasingly rebellious son.

Read more at: http://www.monroenews.com/news/2011/mar/27/one-day-hes-gonna-call/
 
I don't buy the runaway story for one second. LE like to classify disappearances as runaways because it's easier for them. My guess would be foul play, probably the same morning he disappeared. Maybe whoever posted that sign actually knew something.
 
Thanks for sharing this and details I hadn't read in the news. We were just talking about James recently! Good luck following up on this!!
 
It's been 20 years...I also think that the person who put up that sign knows something.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
171
Guests online
1,060
Total visitors
1,231

Forum statistics

Threads
589,939
Messages
17,927,956
Members
228,008
Latest member
redeworker
Back
Top