Right 2: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 28 years; 35 years
Right 2: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 28 years; 35 years
Name: Misty Donna Copsey
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: September 17, 1992
Location Last Seen: Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington
Date of Birth: March 10, 1978
Age: 14 years old
Race: Biracial: White and Native American
Gender: Female
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 120 lbs
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Green/Hazel
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Mole under right eye; scar below her right knee; healed fractures to both forearms
Dentals: Available, x-rays
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available
Clothing: Navy blue sweatshirt with an unknown logo; baggy light blue jeans, cuffs rolled up; dark blue socks; brown suede shoes with a hole near the toe of one side
Jewelry: Gold ring on right ring finger
Additional Personal Items: Small black purse with electronic organizer
Misty, a member of the Cowlitz Tripe, was last seen in the evening of September 17, 1992. She and her best friend were visiting the Puyallup Fair. Misty's mother dropped the girls off between 3-3:30 p.m. Misty's mother had to work that evening and the girls were supposed to return to Spanaway on an 8:40 p.m. Pierce Transit bus. Instead, the girls had arranged for an older boy to give them a ride home. When Misty called him later that evening, he said he did not have enough gas in his car to pick them up. By then they girls had missed the bus. At 8:45 p.m. Misty called her mom at work and told her she missed the bus. Her mom told her to call someone they both trusted for a ride and to call her back. Misty's mother never heard from her again. Misty's friend had one hour to get home before her curfew, so she decided to walk home shortly after Misty's phone call with her mom. The friend made it home safely. A bus driver reported he spoke with Misty at about 9:20 p.m. She asked him when the last bus was leaving for Spanaway. He told her he just drove the last bus. He told her she could catch a bus to Tacoma and transfer to one that goes to Spanaway. Before he could get more information from her, she walked off into the night, looking distressed. That was the last time anyone saw her.
On February 7, 1993, searchers found the pair of rolled-up jeans that Misty was wearing when she vanished in the area of the Mud Mountain Dam Road. They were in a ditch near the intersection of State Highway 410 and Weyco Road. A pair of panties and a sock were stuffed into one pant leg.
On February 20, 1993, Misty's hair pick and toothbrush were located approximately one-half mile from the location of her clothes. She carried both the items in her purse at the time of her disappearance.
Authorities suspect foul play in her disappearance. Misty was declared dead in 2000 by the Pierce County Medical Examiner.
Agency Name: Puyallup Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Captain Jason Visnaw
Agency Phone Number: 253-841-5415
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 93005967
NCIC Case Number: M-591284274
NamUs Case Number: 2301
NCMEC Case Number: 774514
NamUs
NCMEC
WA State Patrol
The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) - Mar. 10, 1996
The Daily News (Longview, WA) - Apr. 6, 2022
Added: 2007; Last Updated: 4/8/22 - By: Doe-NamUs-App
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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