A Girl's Mid-Shift Vanishing
Brooke Wilberger was a vibrant Brigham Young University student. Like many college students, she had returned to her hometown for the summer to work and save a little money. But Wilberger's summer in her home state of Oregon took a horrific turn. While working at The Oak Park Apartments, where her sister worked as property manager, Wilberger disappeared without a trace. She was 19 years old. What happened to Brooke Wilberger?
The Disappearance
The summer after Brooke's freshman year at BYU, her sister Stephanie secured her a job at The Oak Park Apartments in Corvallis, near Oregon State University. On May 24, 2004, Stephanie, who was managing the property with her husband, caught a glimpse of Brooke from her apartment as she filled a bucket with water around 10 a.m.
The sisters had planned on having lunch together that day, but by 1 p.m., when Brooke hadn't arrived, Stephanie began searching for her. What she found was alarming: The bucket sat abandoned next to a lamp post where Brooke had been working, with her flip-flops broken and lying in disarray nearby. There was no trace of Brooke. At 3:07 p.m., Stephanie's husband called 911 to report his sister-in-law missing.
The Investigation
The community organized a search party while authorities arrived at the scene and quickly concluded Brooke had been abducted. In addition to her flip flops, her wallet, purse, cell phone, and car were all left behind, and Brooke would have likely taken these items had she left willingly. A witness reported hearing a scream around 10:30 a.m. that morning, but no one else had observed anything unusual. Desperate for clues leading to Brooke's whereabouts, police focused on residents of the apartment complex as well as nearly 2,000 registered sex offenders in the vicinity.
The Break
Tips poured in from across the country, but none of them panned out. Then investigators received a crucial tip. In Albuquerque, N.M., 1,400 miles from Corvallis, a terrified college student had been kidnapped, but managed to escape from her abductor.
Waitress Dara Finks was driving with her three daughters when they spotted a naked woman dashing across the street and into a nearby restaurant. Finks stopped and entered the restaurant to investigate. Inside, the frantic woman was desperately seeking help, saying, "He's got a knife; he's trying to kill me," according to Oxygen True Crime. Finks hid the woman in her car and locked the doors. Just then, the frightened student spotted her attacker waiting in a red compact car at a nearby traffic light. Finks immediately called 911 with a detailed description of the man and his vehicle.
The student later told police the man had grabbed her from behind while she was walking. Armed with a knife, he forced her into his car, sexually assaulted her, and bound her with her own shoelaces. When he stopped at an old apartment complex and went inside, she escaped and ran for help. The victim gave police a clear description of his car, and they tracked down the vehicle and arrested Joel Courtney.
The Perpetrator
A married father of three, Courtney was arrested for the New Mexico crimes, but investigators believed he could be a habitual criminal. Could he have preyed on other college students? Could he be Brooke's abductor?
Investigators soon found incriminating information on Courtney. Six months prior to the attack in Albuquerque, Courtney's wife had obtained a restraining order against Courtney on allegations that he had choked her.
Connecting the Dots
A detective in New Mexico contacted an investigator Lincoln County, Oregon, where the New Mexico detective had found a DUI charge for Courtney from early 2004. During the call, the detective inadvertently shared details about the recent sexual assault case in Albuquerque, and the Lincoln County detective could not ignore the similarities between this assault and Brooke's case.
Further investigation revealed that Courtney, along with his wife and children, had been visiting the Portland suburbs in May 2004, aligning him with the time and place of the abduction. Additionally, his cell phone records confirmed his presence in Corvallis that very morning. At this point, Courtney became a prime suspect in the Brooke Wilberger case.
Justice Is Served
Once the police identified Brooke's DNA inside Courtney's work van, they had the evidence they needed to charge him with the crime. In 2009, Courtney admitted guilt to aggravated murder in exchange for the prosecution's decision to forgo the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Courtney eventually consented to disclose the location of the body. Authorities recovered Brooke's remains in the Oregon Coast Range on an abandoned logging road.
The resolution of Brooke Wilberger's case could never erase the pain of her loss. Her family and friends found some comfort in the knowledge that her killer could no longer harm anyone else and in the hope that Brooke's memory might inspire others to cherish every moment and fight for justice. Brooke's story served as a testament to the enduring strength of those who loved her and their unwavering commitment to ensuring her memory lived on.
References: A College Student Mysteriously Disappeared From Her Summer Job | Authorities Finish Recovering Remains of Brooke Wilberger
