Police Tweet as Child Who Went Missing 25 Years Ago in Hopes of Cracking Cold Case

From Redbook

Puyallup Police in Puyallup, Washington, have come up with a unique strategy to help them with an unsolved missing persons case from 1992. The police department decided that on the 25th anniversary of Misty Copsey's disappearance on September 17, they would tweet in Misty's voice to try to advance their investigation.

"We hope people will hear Misty through our feed, and bring attention to her disappearance," Capt. Scott Engle told The News Tribune. "Hopefully, that leads to further information and tips for our case."

Misty was 14 years old when she was first reported missing. According to police investigations, she separated from her friend Trina at a local fair and never made it home.

On Sunday, Puyallup Police used their official Twitter account all day to share important details about the night Misty disappeared. The account also gave readers insight into who Misty was as a person, in the form of a narrative, from her childhood up until the day she went missing.

Below are a few sample tweets from their account. The full thread can be seen here.

Misty's mother Diana Smith spoke with The News Tribune about the police department's attempts to reopen Misty's case. "It's nice and stuff," she said. "I think the hope in her case is for somebody to come forward."

The local news outlet reports that Smith has not always had the best relationship with the department. In 1992, they dismissed Misty as a runaway and did not follow up on fresh leads. Puyallup Police reportedly tried reexamining the case again in 2009, 2010 and 2011, but all roads led to dead ends.

The Puyallup Police department is cautiously optimistic about their new social media tactic and hopes it will provide tips that they haven't heard before. Yet they're also wary of the potential consequences of sharing investigation details on such a big platform.

"We'll evaluate some tips way more quickly than others," Engle said. "But we don't want to steer it right off the bat. We don't want to put a filter or a tinge on it that might stop someone from calling us. We don't want to inhibit any of that."

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