More than 30 years after the disappearance of Vancouver Island residents Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, authorities in Washington state have released new images that they believe could help identify the person who killed them.
“We are here to ask you, the public, to listen carefully and come forward with any information,” said Laura Baanstra, Jay Cook’s sister.
“As he drove away I remember standing in the window and waving. When your brother or sister or daughter or loved one leaves you have no way to know that it will be the last time you see them.”
The high school sweethearts left Saanich in the fall of 1987 heading for a short trip to Seattle to pick up a package and head home. On Wednesday, authorities in Washington state released sketches created by Parabon DNA, based solely on the DNA left at the crime scene, to show what detectives believe the suspect looks like.
Authorities say it’s not a picture, but rather a composite sketch. The way a profile is built is by using DNA code to predict a person’s appearance. The technology cannot predict traits like hair and weight.
The victim’s bodies were found in separate locations in Washington state days after they left Vancouver Island. Van Cuylenbord was found on November 24 with a gun shot wound in the back of the head and there were clear signs she had been restrained and sexually assaulted. Cook’s body was found on November 26 in a rural area and it was clear he had been strangled.
“We know how they died but he don’t know who killed them despite tremendous efforts by several agencies,” said Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Ternary in a news conference in Everett on Wednesday. “Even though DNA was collated, that DNA has not come back with a positive hit.”
“But because of technology Parabon was able to create these sketches based on DNA left at the scene. We are releasing the sketches today in the hope that someone will recognize the likeness.”
The families have put up a $50,000 reward in an attempt to motivate anyone with information to come forward. Authorities say if the information leads to a DNA match, the reward money will be paid out. Detectives from both Snohomish and Skagit County are working on the case.
“The person who did this came prepared to do a brutal crime,” said detective Jim Scharf, who has been working on the case for the past 13 years. “The smallest detail could end up being the lead we need to solve this case.”