Feb 07, 2013
Jun 20, 2024
Jay
Cooke
51
14
64 inches
125 lbs
Black / African American
Male
On a spring day in May of 1989, 14-year-old Jay Lamar Cooke embarked on a fishing trip with his parents and a family friend from Homer, Alaska. The group departed from the Homer Harbor, heading towards the area of Flat Island in the lower Cook Inlet. Jay was an African American male with black hair and brown eyes, standing at 5 feet 4 inches and weighing around 125 pounds at the time of his disappearance. The outing was meant to be a day of recreation on the water, a common pastime in the coastal Alaskan community. The waters of the Cook Inlet, however, proved to be treacherous. It is believed that the boat the group was on capsized due to rough water conditions, a sudden and tragic turn of events that would alter the course of many lives forever. In the aftermath of the incident, a search and rescue operation was launched. The bodies of Jay's parents were recovered from the frigid waters, a heartbreaking discovery that confirmed the devastating outcome of the fishing trip for them. Despite the recovery of his parents, Jay and the family friend, Roger Hanson, were never found. Their whereabouts remain unknown to this day. The case is a painful reminder of the unforgiving nature of the sea and the profound loss experienced by their families. The disappearance of Jay Lamar Cooke is an enduring mystery, a story of a young life interrupted and a family torn apart by a day of fishing that ended in tragedy in the vast and unpredictable waters of Alaska. The official report on May 28, 1989, by the Alaska State Troopers marked the beginning of a long and unresolved search for answers.
May 27, 1989
Homer
Alaska
Kenai Peninsula Borough
No
28571
Alaska State Troopers
Anchorage
Alaska
Anchorage Borough
99507
Malia Miller
Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager
5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska
9072695511
State
Law Enforcement
890036552
1989-05-28
Alaska State Troopers
Black
Brown
Brown
07/26/2026
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