North Carolina police release 911 calls in Nancy Cooper death
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/07/22/cooper-calls.htmlLast Updated: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 | 11:23 PM ET Comments25Recommend48
CBC News
The police department in Cary, N.C., on Tuesday released 911 calls related to the disappearance of Nancy Cooper.
The 34-year-old mother of two, originally from Edmonton, went missing Saturday, July 12. Her body was found two days later near her home in Cary.
Cooper’s friend, Jessica Adam, made the first call to the Cary 911 communications centre early Saturday afternoon after Cooper failed to return home from a jog.
Adam was concerned because Cooper had missed a meeting with her earlier that day.
This is the message Adam left with police:
"...has been missing since seven o'clock this morning and her husband and her are in the middle of a divorce. I'm not sure what the protocol would be, but she supposedly went out for a run at seven o'clock this morning and no one has heard from her," she told the 911 operator.
"She was supposed to be at my house at eight (a.m.) and, because of the situation, I'm wondering if you can help."
Cary police also received a 911 call from the man who found Cooper's body.
This is a partial transcript of the man's conversation with the 911 operator at 7:35 p.m. on Monday, July 14:
Man: "Yes, I'd like to report a body I found. I was out walking my dog. "
Operator: "OK. Are you with the body now?"
Man: "No. I walked back with my dog. I was going to take my dog home.
Operator: "Could you tell how old the person was?"
Man: No. I did not pull over. The reason I noticed it was because of all the vultures hanging around."
Operator: “You think she’s beyond any help?”
Man: “I think she’s dead…I didn’t see her move.”
Police in Cary said they are continuing to investigate Cooper’s death as a homicide. They have not named a suspect or person of interest.
Last Thursday a North Carolina court granted temporary custody of the slain woman's two young daughters to her Edmonton-based parents, Garry and Donna Rentz, and her twin sister, Krista Lister.
Cooper's husband, Brad, had been caring for the children since their mother went missing.
In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, lawyers hired by Brad Cooper said it was "extremely distressing" that the Cary police department had released the 911 recordings.
In the statement, the lawyers said: "Today's leaks appear calculated to do nothing more than inflame already raw emotions."
They go on to call the release "reckless, misleading and just plain wrong.”
The Cary police force said they released the 911 tapes 'In accordance with state public records law,” and the audio recordings are available on the Town of Cary's website.
A memorial service for Nancy Cooper will be held in Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon.
