What Happened to Misty Copsey: Part Three - The Lies We Tell

In our final episode covering The Disappearance of Misty Copsey, the search for answers intensifies as volunteers scour the woods alongside Highway 401 in Washington. What they stumble upon sends shockwaves through the investigation. This grim discovery shatters her mother's hope that Misty might still be alive. Meanwhile, Cory, an unconventional civilian investigator, feels vindicated in his relentless pursuit of the truth. The tangled web of suspects and clues deepens, leaving Diana on an unwavering quest for justice, even as the years pass by and the case remains unsolved.

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Transcript

What Happened to Misty Copsey? a story in 3 parts, this is part Three: The lies we tell

[Underscore Music]

A search part was scouring through the trees and ditches alongside Highway 401 in Washington, when one volunteer stumbled across a shocking discovery.

[Theme Music Start]

We dance round in a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows.

[Theme Music Play Out]

[Under Score Music]

What searchers had discovered in the dimly lite woods had been something familiar to Diana, because it was something that belong directly to her, a pair of acid washed jeans, the same jeans her daughter Misty had borrowed to wear on her big night out at the Washington State Fair.

This news did not bring joy for Diana, but rather it made her heart sink, Diana had always had a glimmer of hope, a hope that if Misty had runaway, at least she was alive and probably safe, this discovery changed everything. Cory on the other hand was overjoyed at this development. After Cory had spent years fighting with law enforcement about this case, he was vindicated, he was right. Cory was still waiting to stand trial on the drug charges, but this break in the case meant the police had to listen to him after all, at least that is what Cory thought it meant. 

The jeans were not the only thing found on this day, as the volunteer searcher plucked the jeans from a ditch, a pair of blue socks tumbled to the ground, followed by a pair of women’s underwear. Diana confirmed that these were clothing items Misty had been wearing the night she vanished. With this new evidence in hand, Diana knew that Cory’s claims were most likely true and that her beloved daughter was no longer of this world.

The one good thing about where this evidence had been located was that it was technically within King County’s jurisdiction. Now Detective Jim Doyon could take charge of the investigation of this area and he did so by using a helicopter with infrared scanners to look for Misty’s body, but her body was not located. When Detective Doyon first met Cory Bober, he was somewhat dubious of the civilian investigator, Doyon decided to hold back on his assessment of Cory, after all, he had produced results that the police had yet to accomplish.

Detective Doyon was inquisitive about the evidence located during this search. The clothing was not located in the area where the other two bodies had been dumped, both of the bodies had been just a ten-minute walk through the woods to each other but the clothing found was located in a ditch somewhat close to the roadway. Doyon knew that he had personally searched this area just the week prior and he did not think these cloths had been present during his search, although he does acknowledge that they could have been overlooked. The cloths located were subjected to forensic testing and the results were, interesting to say the least. The pants had been covered in dirt for an extended period of time, possibly buried and then unearthed and moved to the ditch following Cory’s new story about their impending search of the area. 

When good ol’ Sergeant Carver heard about the discovery of the clothing, he immediately thought of Diana and Cory, his old nemesis, and he thought it was possible that they were both involved in Misty’s disappearance, all the while he continued to proclaim that Misty was an average runaway. Detective Doyon on the other hand, did not hold grudges against anyone in this case and he continued on his focused investigation. Doyon called in search dogs to examination the area, but they did not find anything either.

The discovery of Misty’s pants only served to amp up Cory’s confidence in his investigation and he began to see himself as the sole force keeping this case alive. Although Randy Achziger had long ago been cleared as a suspect in this case, Cory was still convinced, convinced that Randy had killed Misty and that Randy was the Green River Killer. During this time Diana’s opinion of Cory began to vacillate and she began suspecting him of having ulterior motives. In Diana’s mind she could not reconcile how Cory had an eerie ability to uncover new evidence in the case, while no one else could, and Diana could not figure out why Cory was so obsessed with Misty’s case, could the two be connected?

Cory Bober did have some selfish motivations as Misty’s case moved forward. His impending sentencing for drug charges was fast approaching and Cory hoped that his cooperation with investigators on this case would earn him leniency during his sentencing, but that would not be the case. During Cory’s sentencing hearing, several police officers testified against Cory and painted him in a negative light in the eyes of the court. Because of this, Cory received a 14-month jail sentence and while Cory served his 14 months in jail, Misty Copsey’s case sat cold on a shelf, with no progress in those 14 months.

While Cory Bober sat in a jail cell, Detective Kobel visited Cory in jail, he asked Cory to continue helping in the Misty Copsey investigation by handing over his extensive files on Randy Achziger, Cory vehemently refused this request. Now, Cory, who was once the most emphatic civilian investigator in the Misty Copsey case wanted public recognition for his exhaustive efforts to bring Misty’s killer to justice. 

While Cory sat in jail, Detective Doyon kept pursuing new leads in the case and he caught a breakthrough while interviewing Misty’s best friend, Trina Bervard.  While interviewing Trina, Doyon showed Trina a photo of Misty’s recovered jeans, at the sight of this Trina began to cry, and through these tears she began to disclose valuable information that no one involved with this case had yet to hear.

[Music Change]

Trina told Detective Doyon that the girl’s plan all along that night was to get a ride home with Rheuban Schmidt. But this is not what happened, instead on the night of the fair when Misty called Rheuban, he did decline to come pick up the girls, Trina reiterated Rheuban’s claim that he did not have enough money for gas to go pick up the girls. Misty continued trying to persuade Rheuban to pick them up, even giving him instructions on how to sneak into her own house to get money for gas, but still Rheuban had refused. Trina also admitted that she did not care for Rheuban and was thinking about declining the ride if he had come to pick them up.

Trina’s story from there, mostly aligned with the story Diana had told investigators. Around 8:30pm the two girls went their separate ways and Trina walked back to her home in Sumner. Trina told the detective that they had not encountered anything strange at the fair, there were no boys hitting on them, no one following them around, it was just a normal night out. 

The next movement in the case came after the show “America’s Most Wanted” aired a segment about Misty’s disappearance. Tips were directed to the Puyallup Police Department, where Sergeant Carver was still holding jurisdiction over the case. Carver attempted to use these new leads to distract Diana from Cory Bober, who was gaining a reputation as an informant while in jail. But Diana would not be swayed and she advised detective Carver to work harder and she suggested, once again, that he look into Rheuban Schmidt, the person she held the most suspicion over.

Now we know that the police hate being told what to do and Carver was specifically difficult to deal with, however; maybe just to shut Diana up, he decided to finally look deeper in Rheuban Schmidt’s history and there he made some disconcerting discoveries. 

Rheuban worked at a restaurant called Adam’s Ribs and Carver went to the restaurant and spoke with the owner, Frank Rodriguez. Frank had a lot to say about Rheuban, specifically that Rheuban had spoken a lot about Misty Copsey, including one time when he stated that he knew the exact location of Misty’s remains. Frank said that Rheuban claimed that her body was buried about 6 miles from where her cloths had been discovered. Carver and his partner were still at the restaurant when Rheuban arrived for his shift, at the sight of the officers, Rheuban fled on foot, he was apprehended a few hours later and brought in to the police station for an interview.

While Carver interviewed Rheuban, Rheuban dismissed his previous statements about Misty’s remains, explaining that this was his immature attempt to get his boss off of his back.  Rheuban went back through his story of the night of the fair, and his story lined up with what Trina had also claimed happened on that night. One notable thing to emerge from this interview was Rheuban’s claims that he suffered from occasional blackouts. During these blackout periods, Rheuban was not asleep, he simply could not remember what happened during these periods. After Misty’s second call on the night of the fair, the call in which she asked Rheuban to go to her house to obtain money for gas, Rheuban experienced one of these miraculous black out sessions and he could not remember anything that happened until the next morning arrived. When Rheuban awoke the following morning, he got up and drove his own car to his grandmother’s farm property in Buckley, even though he had no money for gas to drive that far. This farm property was located just 8 miles from where Misty’s jeans would later be discovered. When asked about this trip Rheuban stated that he did not know why he drove there and that no one was home so he left quickly after arriving.

Sergeant Carver still did not believe that Rheuban was the suspect Diana imagined him to be, however; he did give Rheuban a polygraph test. During this test Rheuban continuously attempted to make himself fall asleep, this is a known tactic used by some to try and beat a polygraph tests. This tactic raised concerns with the officers, but they never pursued any further inquiries into Rheuban.

It was reported back to Diana that Rheuban had passed his polygraph test with flying colors, even though they knew this was a lie. Because the police had all but cleared Rheuban in the case, Diana refocused her attention on Randy Achziger, Cory Bober’s chief suspect. Diana began to harass Randy, a mother still desperate for answers. After a few months passed, Frank Rodriguez called up Diana directly. The manager from Adams Ribs told Diana about the things Rheuban had said about Misty, something the police had not shared with her. This placed Rheuban right back on top of Diana’s suspect list and it further eroded Diana’s trust in the police, specifically Sergeant Carver.

During the investigation, Rheuban decided to get rid of his car, a 1974 Chevy Nova, but he did not simply sell his car to a new buyer, oh no, Rheuban sold his car to a local scrap yard who crushed and processed the car beyond recognition, Rheuban’s reason for selling the car has never been disclosed.

The next significant event to happen in this case came once again from Misty’s best friend Trina Bevard. Trina, once again spoke to police and this time she revealed that she had not actually walked home on that faithful night, instead she had gotten a ride from her 23-year-old boyfriend, Michael Rhyner, who picked her up at the fair. Michael Ryner had somewhat of a dubious past; when he was 16 years old, he was accused of raping an 11-year-old girl, whom he had offered a ride in his car. Michael also had a personal connection to Kim Delange and Anna Chebetnoy, who had been found dumped on the side of 410.

Sergeant Carver was still declaring Misty as a runaway, King County Detective Doyon decided to continue investigating Michael Rhyner. During subsequent interviews with Trina, she revealed that she had withheld information about Michael out of fear. She stated that on the night of Misty’s disappearance, she had called Michael for a ride, but Misty was hesitant to except a ride from him, she did not trust him period. Doyon speculated about the events of that evening, could Michael Rhyner, who knew that Misty did not have a ride home, circle back after dropping off Trina and pick up Misty with ill intent? Trina could not be sure as Michael had dropped her off at home that night and immediately left her house.

As April arrived, police learned that Michael was attempting to sell his car, a blue 1981 Ford Escort. An undercover police officer posed a buyer and purchased the car and then it was brought in for forensic testing. After this testing, analysis reports cleared Michael of involvement in the case.

[Music Change]

Cory Bober was still in jail, serving his 14-month sentence and sharing a jail cell with Joseph Duncan. Joseph Duncan was a serial killer in jail for multiple heinous murders, rapes and stalking. While in jail Cory’s fellow inmates gave him the moniker the Green River Killer, due to his unbridled obsession with the case, even while in prison. The intense environment of prison, along with Cory’s obsession over the Green River Killer began to deteriorate Cory’s mental state.

Cory set out on a letter writing campaign, he scribed letters to his parents, Diana Smith, and Detective Kobel.  Kobel expressed his concerns that Cory had likely become mentally unwell in prison and his fixation on the case was only exacerbating this problem. Cory received word that his chief suspect in the Green River Killer case, Randy Achziger had been arrested for molesting 2 7-year-old girls, but this did little to sedate Cory’s lust for justice and he forged on in his attempt to connect Randy to the Green River Killer case.

At this point police had refocused their efforts on Rheuban Schmidt, it had now been one year since Misty Copsey enjoyed a night out at the fair and then disappeared without a trace, save for a couple of pieces of clothing.

September 1993, the Puyallup police held onto their initial idea that Misty was still a living breathing runaway, but the pressure was on to find some new evidence in the case and they turned their attention back to Rheuban. Police interviewed James Tinsley; this was Rheuban’s teenage roommate at the time of Misty’s disappearance. James recalled the events that took place one year ago, on September 17th, 1992. James told the investigators that the night of the fair, Rheuban had a 13-year-old over at the house, when Misty called asking for a ride, Rheuban’s 13-year-old girlfriend became upset and jealous and she left shortly after the call. After she had left, 5 to 10 minutes passed and Rheuban also left the house, he did not return until midnight. This intrigued investigators because it completely washed away Rheuban’s alibi for the night in question. James also told investigators that Rheuban had a short temper, he was definitely sexually attracted to Misty, and he did not think it was out of the realm of possibilities for Rheuban to commit murder.   

Based on this new information, detectives picked Rheuban up for further questioning, they also requested an additional polygraph test. Rheuban was hesitant at first, but eventually agreed to take the polygraph test. During this interview, Rheuban’s story had some slight alterations, he claimed he drove to his grandmother’s property during one of his blackout sessions, not the following morning, other than this his story was pretty much the same. This time, Rheuban did pass the polygraph without attempting to thwart the results. His car was no longer available for forensic testing and so Rheuban Schmidt was released by the police and he would never be questioned about Misty Copsey again.

After Rheuban was eliminated as a potential suspect, Sergeant Carver did the classy thing by focusing in on Diana, Misty’s own mother, as a potential suspect. Carver had Diana come down to the police station where he subjected her to a polygraph test of her own, he then conducted interviews with Diana’s former parole officer and her ex-boyfriends. Diana did actually pass the polygraph test with flying colors, however; Carver continued to lambast her and alleged that she was being dishonest to the other detectives working the case, including King County Detective Jim Doyon. Carver was now convinced that Diana, along with her accomplice, Cory Bober, had planted those jeans, socks, and underwear along Highway 410.       

Sergeant Carver also focused attention on Cory Bober, who was now out of jail and on a work release program. Cory was scheduled for a polygraph test in March of 1994, but he did not show up for the appointment, Cory, understandably did not trust the police and he thought the test would only be used to falsely incriminate him in the case.

The following years saw little progress in the case, the Puyallup police department continued their oration that Misty was simply a runaway, despite the fact that there had been no sightings of her, nor any contact from anyone she knew. Once again, in 1997, Cory Bober was brought in for charges of dealing weed, Cory fought these charges as he believed they were simply the police department’s way of silencing his voice, and after a two-year battle, Cory won the fight. After this battle, Cory continued fighting and fighting until he was finally able to obtain the forensic results from Misty’s pants, which had been analyzed 4 years ago. The report stated that the pants had the presence of hairs, fibers and three red paint chips. This discovery excited Cory, because he knew someone who drove a red car, a Porsche to be exact, Randy Achziger.

[Music Change]

I want to take a moment to go back to Robert Leslie Hickey. Hickey was convicted of raping the 15-year-old girl in 1993, for which he served 5 years of his 7-year sentence. In May of 2001, Robert Hickey approached a 24-year-old woman who was walking home from the evening service at her church and propositioned her. The woman refused Robert’s advances, shouted at her from inside of his car, and she kept going on her way. Robert pulled over and exited his car, approaching woman and asking her for a cigarette. The woman crossed to the other side of the street and while doing so she pulled out her phone and began dialing 911. Robert Hickey shoved the woman off of the sidewalk and down an embankment, he then clambered down the embankment, intent on sexually assaulting the woman, but as he approached her, he saw the display on her phone actively calling 911 and he grabbed the phone and fled the scene, saving the woman from being assaulted. This woman immediately notified the police and Robert Hickey was arrested and subsequently convicted of attempted second-degree rape.  Due to Robert being a repeat offender, he received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. So let us take a lesion from this brave woman, cross the street when you are uncomfortable with strangers around you, I have done it myself, and call 911 before you are assaulted, if you call 911 because you are afraid and nothing ends up happening, that is fine too, but stay vigilant. 

Due to Robert Hickey’s proximity to where Misty Copsey disappeared and his history as a brazen serial rapist, it raises questions as to his potential involvement in her case as well as the cases of the other two women who had been found on the side of the 410. Remember that Robert Hickey also drove a red Camaro at the time of Misty’s disappearance, and Misty’s pants had those three red paint chips. Possibly Robert Hickey should still be a suspect in this case and many believe he was involved.

2001 also ushered in a significant breakthrough for the Misty Copsey case in the form of the arrest of Gary Ridgway. Now I know that all of you true crime buffs know this name, but for those who do not, Gary Ridgway was the actual Green River Killer. Gary Ridgway provided extensive confessions and admitted to dozens of murders, 49 in total. Detective Doyon played a significant role in apprehending the Green River Killer, but Cory Bober would not believe it, he still believed that Randy Achziger was the true Green River Killer and that Gary Ridgway was being used as a scapegoat, he was the easy suspect for the police to pin the murders on. There ended up being no connections between Gary Ridgway and the two girls found murdered in Puyallup, Washington. Gary Ridgway did offer his cooperation and assistance in locating the burial sights for many of his victims, a selfish act taken only to avoid the death penalty.

Now lets just debunk Cory Bober right now, so you do not go down some rabbit hole after listening to this episode. On September 17th, 1992, the day Misty Copsey went missing from the Washington State Fair, Gary Ridgway was on the clock working the whole day at his regular job, giving him a pretty air tight alibi. 

In the year 2000, Misty Copsey was legally declared dead by her mother Diana Smith. A funeral was held at the Parkland church with flowers donated by local flower shops, Cory Bober rallied the media to make the funeral a significant event in honor of Misty’s memory. 

After this Cory continued in his pursuit of the truth and asked the police to test the red paint chips found on Misty’s pants against the red paint from Randy Achziger’s Porshe. Eventually police did test the paint samples against one another, but they came back as inconclusive. While this testing took place, the three paint chips found on Misty’s pants erroneously went missing, while being transferred between the police evidence locker and the forensic-testing company, they have simply vanished, not unlike Misty herself. The forensic testing company, Microtrace reported a laboratory fire in 2008, could this have been what happened to the paint chips, to this day no one knows the truth.

Sometime in the early 2000s Diana hired a private investigator to dive deeper into this case, however this PI never uncovered anything of significands, at the end of his investigation he gave Diana one piece of advice: She needed to distance herself from Cory Bober, completely and sever all ties to him.

I will say that Cory Bober, for all of his eccentricities and obsessive-compulsive actions around this case, he was never investigated as a suspect himself. The night of Misty’s disappearance, Cory had been involved in an altercation with one of his neighbors. Police responded to the altercation around 1:30am which also provided Cory with an airtight alibi. Also worth noting is the fact that Cory Bober has never owned a car, nor has he ever obtained a driver’s license, even to this day, this also greatly diminishes the likelihood that Cory could have been involved in any abduction.

In 2013 the hairs found on Misty’s things were tested, but they did not match anyone on Misty’s orbit, or any suspects in this crime.

In 2015, a posting in the Bazaar Daily News claimed to be written by a relative of Rheuban Schmidt. The post alleged that Rheuban and his uncles were responsible for Misty’s disappearance, but further investigation into this claim has not yielded any new leads or information.

Diana Smith has taken her own life back and she no longer speaks to Cory Bober. Cory continues to make claims on social media about this case, including his dogged claims that Randy Achziger killed Misty Copsey and that Randy is the reincarnated spirit of Aleister Crowley, an English occultist, philosopher and magician who lived from 1875-1947. These claims have not been taken seriously by law enforcement. 

To this day, Diana Smith has never given up hope that Misty’s case will be solved. She has made appearances on shows like Crimestoppers in her continued efforts to generate new leads or gather new information so that someday, somehow, she might learn what happened to her daughter after that joyful night out at the fair.

We Dance round in a ring and suppose, but the secret sits I the middle and knows.

Sources: 

Misty Donna Copsey – The Charley Project. (n.d.). https://charleyproject.org/case/misty-donna-copsey

Vanished: 27 years since Misty Copsey, 14, last seen in Puyallup. (2019, November 23). KIRO 7 News Seattle. https://www.kiro7.com/news/south-sound-news/vanished-27-years-since-misty-copsey-14-last-seen-in-puyallup/987369410/

F. (2021, January 5). Misty Donna Copsey. The Resource Center for Cold Case Missing Children’s Cases. https://rcccmcc.com/2020/04/15/misty-donna-copsey/

A roster of possible suspects in the Misty Copsey case. (2012, December 28). Tacoma News Tribune. https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/special-reports/article25859446.html

The Stolen Child: Part I. (2015, June 30). Tacoma News Tribune. https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/special-reports/article25857745.html

The Stolen Child: Part II. (2015, June 30). Tacoma News Tribune. https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/special-reports/article25857751.html

The Stolen Child: Part III. (2015, June 30). Tacoma News Tribune. https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/special-reports/article25857754.html

Loose ends / FAQ. (2012, December 28). Tacoma News Tribune. https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/special-reports/article25857760.html

Harthorne, M. (2013, December 27). Police seek photos from 1992 Puyallup Fair to crack cold case. KOMO. https://komonews.com/news/local/police-seek-photos-from-1992-puyallup-fair-to-crack-cold-case

DNA could solve Misty Copsey’s 1992 disappearance, death. (2013, March 6). KOMO. https://komonews.com/archive/dna-could-solve-misty-copseys-1992-disappearance-death

AOL is part of the Yahoo family of brands. (2013, December 29). https://www.aol.com/article/2013/12/29/police-reopen-cold-case-after-21-years/20796975/

Puyallup, Washington. (2023, August 31). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyallup,_Washington

The Green River Killer. (2021, November 10). Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-green-river-killer/id1565343439?i=1000541453209

Kidnapped Mary Vincent. (2021, April 29). Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5xd1st15lswMawoC1BoVEK