Rachel Cooke missing for 22 years: Where her case stands

GEORGETOWN, Texas - This month marks more than two decades since a Georgetown teen disappeared.

"What's done is done," said Janet Cooke, Rachel’s mom. "We can't change that. The damage psychologically for my family can't be brought back."

Twenty-two years is a long time to wait for answers.

"I want people to know that we are working on this," said Mark McKinney, a detective overseeing the Rachel Cooke case at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. "It's not just sitting on a shelf somewhere. There's a team of us down here that do nothing but this. We do it every day, full time."

FOX 7 Austin sat down with Rachel's family just before the anniversary of her disappearance.

"Rachel was a very vivacious, not afraid to try new things kind of girl," said Cooke.

They keep her memory alive while investigators search for her.

"She loved fashion," said Cooke. "She loved her friends, and she loved life."

Rachel Cooke was 19-years old.

She was going to school at San Diego Mesa College in California.

Her whole life was ahead of her, until she went for a run on January 10, 2002, while visiting her family in Georgetown, Texas.

Her neighbors were the last people to see her, just 200 yards away from her family home on Navajo trail. They said she looked like she was returning home from her run.

"Over the years, there's been countless interviews that have been done on this case," said McKinney. "There's been countless follow-ups."

There've been potential suspects, cars, and even a white trans-am, which caught the eye of investigators.

But no evidence linked it to Rachel.

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McKinney said the case is further along now, potentially waiting on one thing:

"We just need the right piece of information, you know, maybe to tie some things together," said McKinney.

McKinney said this case has taken so long to solve partially because of less advanced technology in the early 2000s and a lack of witnesses.

"That has to be a pretty big weight on you," said McKinney.  "That you've been carrying for 22 years. That's a long time to do that."

Rachel would be 41 now.

Her family and investigators are still not letting go of the hope that someone will say something and end their 22 years of waiting.

"I could go on with the truth and whoever did it, maybe the truth coming out would make a difference in their life," said Cooke.

"I personally think that this case will be solved eventually," said McKinney. " I think that, you know, with the information we have and with the information we're likely to get, I do think that eventually we'll have an answer."

The sheriff's office encourages anyone who might know something in regards to this case to finally speak out and call them at 512-943-5204.