125DFCA - April Ann Cooper

Left: circa 1986; Middle: NCMEC Age-progressed to 26 years (circa 2005); Right: NCMEC Age-progressed to 33 years

Name: April Ann Cooper
Case Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Missing Since: December 13, 1986
Location Last Seen: Temecula, Riverside County, California

Physical Description

Date of Birth: May 13, 1979
Age: 7 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 4'0" - 4'6"
Weight: 60 lbs
Hair Color: Blond/Strawberry, blonde
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers

Dentals: Available; missing upper front teeth at the time of her disappearance
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: Lavender dress; white sweater; leather dress shoes; white leotards; white leather dress shoes
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance

April Cooper, a first-grade student at Cottonwood Elementary School, was last seen walking to the arcade at the Woodchuck Campground located near her Rancho, CA home on December 13, 1986. She never arrived at the arcade and has never been seen again.

Earlier that day, she had went to work at a thrift store with her mother and a neighbor, William Bannister, offered to babysit her. Bannister was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1998 for her homicide. Justin Bannister, William Bannister's son, said that his father admitted to killing Cooper in 1989. Cooper's body has never been found.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Riverside County Sheriff's Office - Homicide Unit
Agency Contact Person: Sergeant Rob Thompson
Agency Phone Number: 909-955-5400
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: F86347048

NCIC Case Number: M416768371
NCMEC Case Number: 600818
NamUs Case Number: 5972

Information Source(s)

NamUs
NCMEC
North County Times
The Riverside Press-Enterprise
CA DOJ

Admin Notes

Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 10-07-2022 - By: hwa