Brenda in Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Disappearances Still Probed
Saturday October 22, 1994
Vol. 100 No. 295
The disappearance of two Mercer County residents reported missing in 1992 and 1993 could have been related, and police say they have interviewed a possible suspect in the case.
Mark Anthony Cook of Bramwell was last seen on Jan. 14, 1993, walking away from Pedro's bar at Airport Square. He was 24 at the time.
And Brenda Gail Lambert of Bluewell was reported missing from her residence on July 26, 1992. She was 22 at the time. "There may be a connection," Darrell Bailey of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department said, "We have evidence that the two were seen together at a time prior to the missing persons report.
Bailey said the two could have been killed, and investigators have a suspect in the case. Bailey said a male has been given a polygraph test.
The detective said he could not release the suspects name or tell the results of the test.
Cook was last seen at 3 a.m. on Jan. 14, 1993. Police have information he was on foot and was walking toward U.S. Route 52.
"He hasnt been seen or heard from since, " Bailey said.
At the time of Cook's disappearance, he was wearing a white baseball cap, bleached jeans, a black T-shirt amd a blue jean jacket with writing on the back. The white male is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 135 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. He was reported missing by a friend of the family.
Lambert was reported missing by her husband from their Bluewell home.
Bailey said there are aspects of Lamberts case that indicate she may not have chosen to leave. "She left her car, and very little clothing were taken if any," Bailey said.
Also, the sheriffs department has information that on July 10, 1992, Lambert called the Princeton Police Department asking for information about how to drop a domestic violence petition.
Lambert is described as having blue eyes and black hair. She is white. She stands 5 feet 2 inches and weighed 115 pounds when she was reported missing.
"We've received a lot of different tips and followed up on some of them in the investigation," Bailey said.
But the sheriffs department has not been able to wrap up the investigation.
If anyone has information on the disappearance of Cook or Lambert, call the sheriffs department.
New Article 11/06/05
This is one of the cases that's haunted me'
Though more than thirteen years old, missing persons case far from forgotten
By Samantha Perry
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Bluefield- It was July 26, 1992, when Brenda Gail Lambert disappeared from her Bluewell home. She didn't take her car and few, if any, personal items. The blue-eyed, dark-haired mother of two was last seen on the evening of her son's first birthday.
It was a difficult case for police, admitted Mercer County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Darrell Bailey. In many cases, missing persons return---but police have to balance the totality of the evidence received.
Could it be a mising person, or could foul play be involved?
Five and a half months after Lambert's disappearance, a good friend of the woman, Mark Anthony Cook, 21, also disappeared.
Bailey said Cook was last seen in the early morning hours of Jan. 14, 1993, after leaving Pedro's Bar, then located in Airport Square, near Route 52.
Lambert's family and law enforcement officials confirmed Lambert and Cook were friends.
"I honestly believe the disappearances are connected, unless someone proves to me otherwise," Bailey said.
And foul play is suspected.
Christy Lambert was a mere 14 years old when her sister Brenda, disappeared. The family, originally from the Freeman are, near Bramwell, was a large one with seven siblings.
"For a long time, I guess I went numb," said Christy, who now lives in Tennessee.
But the family's tragedy did not end with Brenda's disappearance. Christy said her mother spent the years after Brenda's disappearance searching for Brenda. "I hardly remember her eating or sleeping. She spent the last years of her life searching for Brenda," but to no avail.
"She grieved herself to death," Christy said.
Christy was 18 at the time of her mother's death, and had a 13 year old younger brother. Two years later, the childrens father passed away.
Although Christy says there is always a "glimmer of hope" her sister is alive, she is not optimistic.
Christy said Brenda was her "best friend in the world," and said she spent much time at her sisters house before her disappearance.
Now 13 years since she has seen her sister, Christy has renewed her efforts to bring Brenda's disappearance back into the spotlight---to show southern West Virginia, the state and the nation, she has not been forgotten.
She is entering Brenda's data into various web sites that focus on mising and unidentified persons.
"This is one of the cases thats haunted me," Bailey said in an interview last week. "It's a cold case, but not a closed case. The case file has never left my office."
Through the years, police have recieved tips about the case, including one in 2003 that indicated both bodies may be found in a pond off Route 52, Bailey said.
"We worked with several members of the Bluewell Fire Department who were just wonderful," Bailey said.
In an effort to drain the pond, pumps were utilized to pump out several thousands of water. But, Bailey said they were ultimately unsucessful in getting the pond drained.
But law enforcement did not give up.
The sheriffs department then brought in a diver Detective Mike Combs, but there was so much growth in the pond the search was also unsuccessful. Yet the search did not end there.
Bailey said the department contacted a regional crime information agency, which loans equipment to smaller law enforcement agencies that may not have access to high-tech tools. Through this contact, the sheriff's department was able to get access to underwater video cameras, with the ability to photograph underwater.
But, he said, nothing was discovered with this technology either.
Although police have been stymied at every turn, Bailey has not lost hope.
He said Lamberts information has been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). And, anytime an unidentified body is discovered across the nation that information, too, is entered in the NCIC.
"If an agency entering information (on an unidentifed body) gets a hit, or possible hit, then we try to match up the information with whatever means we have," Bailey said. "In this case, we have dental records of Brenda Lambert...they have checked several possible hits, but there has been no match so far."
Bailey said police officers have searched the area but, "We dont have a body, therefore we cant prove a homicide and that makes it very difficult to investigate. It makes it very difficult to interview suspects with no body.
"With no body, we do not have the cause and manner of death," he said.
"There are lots of bodies found by hunters, all-terrain vehicle riders and ginseng hunters," Bailey said. "But in most all of the cases, they're identified. Yet there is no match yet for Brenda Lambert or Mark Cook."
Bailey has not lost hope in the case. "I really hope she is somewhere alive, but on the other hand, I doubt it. And every day I hope that somebody finds a body and were able to make a positive identification.
"Every time I hear of a body being found, these are the first two that come to my mind." he said.
Early in the investigation, Bailey said polygraph examinations were administered on three individuals. "But polygraph examinations are admissable in courts," he said. "They are a tool for law enforcement to see if they are on the right track."
"If we had a body, we would have a new way to go with the investigation," Bailey said. "The body can tell us a lot, even if there is nothing left but a skeleton."
Along with Chief Bailey, Christy Thacker is continuing the search to find her sister. She has recently become a volunteer with the Doe Network, a volunteer organization dedicated to assisting law enforcement in solving missing and unidentified persons cases.
She is now not assisting in the search for Brenda, but thousands of other missing persons nationwide.
"We didnt realize the trouble with missing persons until it impacted our own family," Christy said. "Its amazing someone could just be taken from their family and kids, and the families are left wondering where they are."
Christy has also designed a website----www.freewebs.com/thesearchforbrenda/ ---- for her missing sister.
Now, she says, her hope is "someone will develop a conscious, and tell where she is."
Bailey said Lambert was described as 5' 2" tall, with blue eyes, black hair, medium skin tone and a scar on her right wrist. She was last seen wearing a blue t-shirt and blue shorts.
Cook was last seen wearing a white baseball cap, bleached out blue jeans, black tennis shoes, black t-shirt and a blue denim jacket with writing on the back. Bailey said he was described as 5' 8", with green eyes, brown hair and fair skin.
Although the case is 13 years old, Bailey said there is still the possibility someone will come forward with information on the case. "I hope there is someone out there who might know something and come forward."
Bailey said anyone with information on the case can contact him by email, through the Mercer County Sheriff's Department web site----www.wvmcs.org---or the department's tip line at 487-8365.
He emphasized the tip line is not recorded, and caller ID is not used. "If they dont feel comfortable with email or the tip line, they can send an anonymous letter with no return address. I would love to have names, but if they dont feel comfortable, I understand that."
Bailey said, in most cases, there is a resolution early on. Yet he remains confident the mystery of the disappearance of Lambert and Cook will be solved.
"I dont know what it is about this case, but I have a feeling at some point in time, we'll close this," he said.
---Contact Samantha Perry at
sperry@bdtonline.com
Behind the headlines: Victims of tragic family losses are truly inspiring
Behind the headlines: Victims of tragic family losses are truly inspiring
Posted: Saturday, Nov 19, 2005 - 08:36:59 pm EST
By SAMANTHA PERRY
After weeks of e-mailing back and forth to share background information and plan an interview for an upcoming story, Christy Thacker signed off with an
endearment, "Thanks again Sweetie."
Some say e-mails are impersonal - and many are. But not Christy's. Her kindness and gentle spirit - cloaking a steel resolve - are evident with each keystroke.
My acquaintance with Christy began when she contacted the Daily Telegraph asking if we would update a story on her sister, Brenda Lambert, a former resident of Bluewell who has now been missing for 13 years. Adding intrigue to Brenda's case: Her good friend, Mark Cook, disappeared five months later. Police believe the two cases are connected, and foul play is suspected.
Mere moments after speaking with Christy on the telephone, I felt at ease.
Interviewing family members of murder victims is one of the most difficult aspects of my job. As a journalist, I'm committed to reporting the news - to be the messenger of events, good and bad, in the community. But how can one ask a grieving mother to describe the special qualities of her dead daughter without feeling a tiny tear in one's own heart?
The Telegraph never presses victims' families for interviews. But many want to speak about their slain sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. It is a means to show the person behind the sterile world of legalese that dominate court and crime stories.
A story about a murder victim in Bluefield, Va., never delved into the fact the young mother had, for months, nursed her chronically ill son who died weeks before her own death.
The preliminary hearing about a brutal homicide in Princeton that occurred days before Christmas did not mention the gifts the murdered mother has purchased for her beloved toddler.
The official reports of a hit-and-run accident last year resulting in the death of a young man did not detail the parent's anguish - then and now.
It is not intentional, this sterile language. It is simply the way the factual world of "hard news" generally works.
Speaking with Christy was like talking to a friend I had known for ages. The standard question-and-answer interview swiftly evolved into a conversation.
She told me about her family. About Brenda. And her sister's disappearance.
She also discussed the family's life since that fateful evening when Brenda vanished on the evening of her son's first birthday. Christy was a mere 14 years old when her sister disappeared. "I guess I was numb for a while," she told me.
But Christy's trials were not over. She related how her mother spent the years after Brenda's disappearance constantly looking for her daughter. Christy doesn't remember her mom eating much, or sleeping.
Four years later, "She grieved herself to death," Christy related in a melancholy voice. But her overwhelming concern for others became evident when speaking of her brother, only 13 when their mother passed away.
Christy worries about him.
A few years later their father died, leaving the siblings - seven, including Brenda - with no parents.
And, more than likely, no sister. "I know she's dead," Christy said, when speaking of Brenda.
During our conversation, I wondered how such a tender, warmhearted and compassionate young woman could withstand such horrific events. But instead of allowing herself to sink into despair, Christy is now volunteering with a network that helps locate missing persons nationwide.
I've thought about Christy often since our interview, and even more so as Thanksgiving approaches. Thoughts of others have also weighed heavily on my mind: Richard and Helen Brown, parents of Heidi Brown, who was murdered in Princeton; Sue Lockhart, mom of Brandy Hatfield, who was slain in her Bluefield, Va., home; Richard and Cheryl Leeper, parents of Ryan Leeper, killed in a yet unsolved hit-and-run accident last year; the family of Charles Boone, murdered in the 1980s; and the many, many other families in our area whose loved ones have perished by natural or unnatural causes.
This Thanksgiving, as we scurry about the kitchen worrying about a dry turkey, overcooked casserole, less-than-perfect centerpiece or mismatched place setting, we should take time to stop and ponder the truly important things in life - and offer a prayer for those whose lives have been impacted by horror and misfortune.
Although chronicling their tragedies, I feel blessed to have met the people whose loved ones I've written about this year. They were strong enough to share with me, and thus the community, the beauty of their loved ones and the torment of their deaths.
Christy, it is you who are the "Sweetie" - along with the other families who share a similar grief.
And I thank you all for allowing me into your lives, if only for a brief moment, to share the special qualities of your families with the people in our cities, counties, towns and communities.
Yes, there is evil in our region, but I can not forgo the hope it can be overpowered by the good that emanates from the overwhelming number of people who truly care.
Woman utilizing technology in search for sister
By SAMANTHA PERRY
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD — Brenda Lambert’s blue eyes gaze from computer monitors across the nation. The face is more mature than her family remembers, but the dark hair and bone structure are unmistakably those of the 22-year-old woman who disappeared from Bluewell 14 years ago.
The image of Lambert is an age-progression photo by Lt. Wesley Neville with Project Edan, a group that works to find missing persons across the nation.
The image enhancement was completed at the request of Christy Thacker, Lambert’s younger sister who was just 14 years old when her sibling disappeared.
Utilizing the mass communication the Internet provides, Christy works tirelessly to spread the word about Lambert.
From trucking boards to crime and justice web sites, the young woman’s story has struck a chord with many across the nation.
"She’s just on so many sites. She’s everywhere," said Christy, who now lives in Tennessee.
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Christy believes the circumstances surrounding her sister’s disappearance is one reason so many have rallied to assist in the search.
Lambert disappeared on July 26, 1992, on the evening of her son’s first birthday. The mother of two did not take her car and few, if any, personal items.
Five and half months after Lambert was reported missing, her good friend, Mark Anthony Cook, also disappeared.
Cook, 24, was last seen in the early morning hours of Jan. 14, 1993, after leaving Pedro’s Bar, then located in Airport Square off Route 52 in Brushfork.
Authorities believe the cases are connected.
The Mercer County Sheriff’s Department has investigated the case from the beginning. And although the case is cold, it is not closed, Chief Deputy Darrell Bailey said.
"This case actually stays with me on my desk day after day," Bailey said. "I’ve put it in a place where I can see it everyday. I’ve checked all leads, not just in this case but the Mark Cook case, too. I feel they are connected and always will.
"I feel if we close one of these, we will close both," he said.
Although Bailey said he keeps "an open mind," he acknowledges he does believe the case is a homicide.
In 1994, police reported a male suspect had been given a polygraph test, but the results were not released. Lie-detector tests are not admissible in West Virginia courts.
In 2003, police received a tip the bodies of Lambert and Cook could be found in a pond off Route 52.
An attempt to drain the pond was unsuccessful, but the department brought in a diver and, later, specialized underwater video equipment to search the murky depths.
No bodies or evidence were found.
Without a body, Bailey said homicide can not be proved, making the cases difficult to investigate. "It makes it difficult to interview suspects with no body."
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Christy, too, believes her sister’s case goes beyond that of a missing person.
"I know it’s foul play," she said. "Brenda would never, never have left her kids, and that’s what gives it all away."
Christy estimates Brenda’s story is on 40 to 50 web sites devoted solely to missing persons.
"I want people to know, not just for Brenda, but for everybody else — to know that things happen like this all around them. It can happen to anybody.
"There are just so many missing people, they range in age from children to seniors."
Christy maintains a web site, brendalambert.org, devoted solely to her sister. "I’ve had a lot of visitors. There’s been a few people sign our guest book and wish us well."
Many people have e-mailed Christy, requesting to place Brenda’s information on their sites.
"They’re just really touched by her story," she said. "I think a lot of people responded to when she actually went missing — on her son’s birthday. It’s kind of chilling for them. It’s chilling for us."
Chief Bailey admires Christy’s work on behalf of her sister.
"I think she’s doing an excellent job," he said, noting the two stay in contact about the case.
Bailey said it is very difficult for families of missing persons, "not knowing if they’re OK, if they’re still alive. It has to be the worst case scenario for any family to go through.
"There’s no closure with a missing person, even for us, we’re always looking for an answer," he said.
And that is what Christy is hoping for. "If I could find her body, if I could lay her to rest ... We just want to find her."
"Whoever’s responsible needs to pay for it," Christy said, adding, "I’m pretty confident they’ll get what they deserve — whether it’s here or where they’re going to go after this life. I can’t judge anyone, only God can do that."
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Lambert is described as 5'2" tall, with blue eyes, black hair, medium skin tone and a scar on her right wrist. She was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt and blue shorts.
Cook is described as 5'8" tall, with green eyes, brown hair and fair skin. He was last seen wearing bleached-out blue jeans, black T-shirt, black tennis shoes and a blue denim jacket with writing on the back.
Chief Bailey and Christy asked anyone with information to contact authorities. Bailey can be contacted by e-mail through the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department web site, www.wvmcs.org, or through the sheriff’s department tip line, 487-8365.
— Contact Samantha Perry at sperry@bdtonline.com