Casey Joanna Brooks, a 17-year-old from Tiburon, California, was last seen on January 29, 2008. A senior at Redwood High School, she was a very good student who had recently received early admission to Bennington College in Vermont, where she planned to study journalism and environmental science. She was taking a heavy academic load, including advanced placement classes, and was reportedly stressed about her coursework.
On the morning of her disappearance, Casey left her home at 5:00 a.m. Surveillance footage from the Golden Gate Bridge captured her parking her car at the north end of the bridge, walking onto the east sidewalk, smoking a cigarette, and then climbing over the rail and jumping. She left a note at her home that read, "The Saab is parked at the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm sorry." A frantic search by the local police, California Highway Patrol, Golden Gate Bridge Patrol, and the Coast Guard ensued, but her body was never recovered.
Casey, whose birth name was Joanna Neilacna, was born in Poland and spent her early months in an orphanage after her twin sister died at birth. She was adopted by an American couple in July 1991. Her family indicated that she began experiencing emotional problems in middle school and had seen several therapists, though she was reportedly uncooperative with treatment. Despite these struggles, her family described her presumed suicide as an impulsive act, stating they did not believe she was seriously depressed. In the year before her death, she had seemed much calmer and happier.
Following her death, Casey's family became advocates for a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge. Her father, John Brooks, wrote a book titled "The Girl Behind the Door" about his daughter's life and death, exploring the emotional deprivation she may have experienced as an infant and a possible attachment disorder. A memorial bench was placed at a favorite hangout spot of Casey and her friends in Strawberry Vista, overlooking Richardson Bay.
Last Seen: Jan 29, 2008
