A 23-year-old cold case looks to have been solved thanks to the hard work and determination of a nonprofit group.
According to reports, Adventures With Purpose, whose members are committed to working on cold cases all over the US, last month found a car submerged in 8 feet of water in the Illinois Bayou stream.
They promptly contacted the Pope County Sheriff’s Office on October 23 and a team was sent out to investigate their find.
The location where the vehicle was discovered matched the route whereon a pregnant mother and her 2-year-old had disappeared without trace on September 11, 1998.
Samantha Jean Hopper and her little girl, Courtney, vanished while traveling between their home and a concert set to take place in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Soon after the vehicle was retrieved from the Illinois Bayou, the sheriff’s office confirmed in a statement that the remains of Samantha, Courtney and Samantha’s unborn child (she was 9 months pregnant at the time of her disappearance) had also been recovered.
“Samantha was reported to have been traveling to drop her daughter, Courtney Holt, off before continuing on to a concert in Little Rock; however, Samantha, her daughter, and her blue Ford Tempo were never located,” the statement said.
“The Pope County Sheriff’s Office would like to send our sincere condolences to the family of Samantha Hopper and Courtney Holt, and we are thankful to have been a small part of helping bring this 23-year-old case to closure.”
Samantha’s surviving daughter, Dezarae, set up a memorial page in the wake of the find. It reads:
“After being missing for over 23 years, with the assistance of AWP and Chaos dive teams we were able to find my mother who was 9 months pregnant and my 22 month old sister, Courtney. This has been such a relief to have found her and we want to provide them with a proper burial. If you’re able to donate or even just pass this along it would be forever appreciated. Thank you.“
Dezarae’s husband, Richard Carpenter, shared his thoughts in a Facebook post.
He wrote: “My wife Dezarae has lived her whole life not knowing where her mother and sister were or what happened to them.
“Since 1998 Samantha Hopper and baby Courtney have been missing, and this week they were finally found. Samantha was also 8 months pregnant at the time she went missing. My wife and our family are looking to do a service for all 3 of them. Thank you and God Bless 🙏.”
I don’t know about you, but it breaks my heart to think that Samantha, her daughter, and her unborn child have been stuck in that vehicle all this time.
Please, share this article on Facebook to say a prayer for them.
