COLUMBUS, Ohio — “It’s been rough, I’m not even gonna lie,” James Carswell said. “Some days are better than others.”
For more than a year, family members of Devin “Sacoya” Cooper have been kept in the dark.
“The least that we can do was find out what happened,” he said. “That’s the most important thing I feel as though that needs to be done. That would, at least, bring us closure.”
It was last August when Cooper, a transgender woman, left her northeast Columbus home and never came back.
In October, Columbus police found her vehicle in west Columbus with a different license plate. A few months later, Carswell said the FBI got involved. Wednesday, it offered a $10,000 reward for information to this case.
“[I’m] thankful that it is offered at this time,” Carswell said. “Hopefully, we can get some more information.”
Carswell said he’s appreciative for the FBI’s involvement, but wonders why it took almost seven months for federal authorities to get involved.
“I do think that they need to reevaluate, nationwide, how they handle missing persons cases because a lot of people could be found if it was taken seriously right when it’s reported,” he said.
Carswell said police have not told them what, if anything, was found in Cooper’s vehicle. At this point, knowing it’s been so long and knowing Sacoya as a person, he and the family believe they might never again see their loved one alive.
“Sacoya, knowing her, she would’ve found a way to reach out to us by now,” he said. “For sure. So…I believe she’s gone.”