20 years later: Rachel Cooke's loved ones still seeking answers after disappearance

Monday will mark 20 years since Rachel Cooke went for a jog and was never seen or heard from again.

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Monday will mark 20 years since Rachel Cooke went for a jog and was never seen or heard from again.

"Hope delayed makes the heart sick," Pastor Charlie Turner of River Rock Bible Church said Sunday, quoting Proverbs 13:20.

A guitarist strummed a light melody as a group of Cooke's loved ones gathered at a remembrance ceremony. Family and friends are still seeking answers about her mysterious disappearance.

Williamson County Sherriff Mike Gleason revealed he was the patrol sergeant on duty when the call came in that Cooke was missing.

Twenty years later, Gleason said the case is still evolving. Though, he admits most of the evidence likely doesn't exist anymore. He stresses the case won't be solved unless someone comes forward about what they know.

"Somebody...it's weighing heavy on their heart. They've lived with it too long, or they know someone, or they know something," Gleason said.

According to Gleason, a case now turning two decades old still has a group of people banding together to find answers more prominently than other cold cases Williamson County manages.

In 2020, Williamson County detectives released digital sketches of persons of interest.

Cooke's mom pleads with the community to continue sending tips to give law enforcement leads in the investigation.

"I can't tell y'all how much y'all being here after 20 years means to me. It means 'yes, we're fighting still, guys.' We're not giving up," Rachel's mother Janet Cooke said. "And at this point, yes, she may be dead, yes, she may be alive, we still don't know, folks. We've got to hang in there and do what we can until we know."

This story will be updated by reporter Jala Washington after KXAN News at 9 p.m.