Cast of characters
SEAN ROBINSON; The News Tribune
Misty Copsey: Daughter of Diana and Buck Copsey, born 1978. Spanaway resident, student at Spanaway Lake Junior High School. Disappeared Sept. 17, 1992 after a visit to the Puyallup Fair. She has never been found.
Diana Smith: Misty’s mother. Following Misty’s disappearance, she posted fliers, participated in searches for her daughter, and campaigned for an investigation by Puyallup police.
Cory Bober: Puyallup resident, amateur researcher with a longstanding theory regarding a one-time acquaintance he believes to be a serial killer.
Trina Bevard: Misty’s best friend in 1992. Trina, then 14, went to the Puyallup Fair with Misty the night of her disappearance. Bevard declined The News Tribune’s requests for an interview.
Rheuban Schmidt: Friend of Misty’s. In 1992, he was 18. Misty called him several times the night of the disappearance, looking for a ride home from the fair. Schmidt was questioned by Puyallup police regarding his involvement. He said he could not remember his actions that night.
Herm Carver: Puyallup police sergeant, assigned to Misty’s missing-person case in 1992.
Tom Matison: Puyallup police detective, partnered with Carver during the investigation of Misty’s disappearance.
Jim Doyon: King County sheriff’s detective, joined the investigation of Misty’s disappearance after her jeans were discovered near Enumclaw in February 1993. Doyon died in 2004.
Jim Corey: King County sheriff’s detective, worked with Doyon on the investigation.
Tim Kobel: Pierce County sheriff’s detective, briefly involved in the investigation as a result of his contacts with Cory Bober.
Brian Coburn: Pierce County sheriff’s deputy, assigned to the juvenile division in 1992. Coburn was assigned to Misty’s case on the runaway side in 1992. The case was later transferred to Puyallup’s jurisdiction and treated as a missing-person investigation.
Dede Miles: Friend of Misty’s, age 15 at the time of the disappearance. Dede was interviewed several times by Puyallup police, but she did not go to the fair with MIsty and Trina.
Paul “Buck” Copsey: Misty’s father, Eatonville resident. Separated from Diana a few years after Misty was born.
Kim Delange: Puyallup resident, born 1974, died 1988. Delange was last seen near a shopping center and arcade north of downtown Puyallup. Her remains were found off of Highway 410, east of Enumclaw. Her killing has never been solved.
Anna Chebetnoy: Puyallup resident, born 1976, died 1990. Chebetnoy was last seen near the same shopping center and arcade as Delange. Her remains were found within 100 feet of Delange’s, in the same area off of Highway 410. Her killing has never been solved.
Gary Smith: Pierce County sheriff’s commander. Ran the county’s runaway team (Youth Emergency Services, or YES) at the time of Misty’s disappearance. Smith had multiple contacts with Cory Bober. He now works for the Department of Corrections.
Tammi Horner: Part-time employee with the Pierce County sheriff’s juvenile division Horner took the initial report on Copsey’s disappearance, and told her superiors it didn’t seem like a standard runaway case.
James Tinsley: Roommate of Rheuban Schmidt, age 15 at the time of Misty’s disappearance.
Gary Leon Ridgway: The Green River killer. Born 1949. Ridgway was arrested in 2001, and in 2003 confessed to 48 murders.
Robert Leslie Hickey: Convicted rapist, arrested for assaults on women in 1993 (in Puyallup) and 2001 (in Lakewood). Never questioned by Puyallup police regarding Copsey’s disappearance. Hickey, a two-strike offender, is serving a life sentence. He did not respond to The News Tribune’s request for an interview.
Michael Rhyner: Boyfriend of Trina in 1992. Rhyner, 23, gave Trina a ride home from the fair.
Frank Rodriguez: Rheuban Schmidt’s employer at the time of Misty’s disappearance. Rodriguez owned a restaurant on Pacific Avenue in South Tacoma.
