A 23-year-old cold case seems to have been answered thanks to the dedication and hard work of a nonprofit organization.
As per sources, Adventures With Purpose whose representatives are dedicated to working on cold cases around the United States, discovered an automobile buried in 8 feet of water in the Illinois Bayou stream.
On October 23, the Pope County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the incident, and a crew was dispatched to examine this discovery. The area where the car was recovered corresponded to the path taken by a pregnant woman named Samantha Jean Hopper and her 2-year-old daughter Courtney on September 11, 1998.
The two went missing while travelling between their house and a concert in Little Rock, Arkansas.
In a report shortly after the car was found from the Illinois Bayou, the sheriff’s office stated that the ʙᴏᴅɪᴇs of Samantha, Courtney, and Samantha’s unborn baby (she was 9 months pregnant at the time of her missing) had also been located.
The report said that Samantha was believed to be travelling to drop off her daughter, Courtney Holt, before continuing on to a concert in Little Rock; but, Samantha, her daughter, and her blue Ford Tempo were never found.
The Pope County Sheriff’s Office wishes to express their heartfelt sympathies to the families of Samantha Hopper and Courtney Holt, and they are grateful to have played a tiny role in bringing this 23-year-old case to a close.
After this discovery, Samantha’s surviving daughter, Dezarae, created a tribute page. It says: “after being lost for almost 23 years, they were able to discover her mother, who was 9 months pregnant, and her 22-month-old sister, Courtney, with the help of AWP and Chaos dive teams. It’s such a relief to have discovered her, and they wish to give them a dignified burial. If one is able to give or even pass this along, it would be greatly valued. Thank you very much.”
Dezarae’s husband, Richard Carpenter, expressed his feelings in a Facebook post. He stated- his wife Dezarae has lived her entire life not knowing where her mother and sister were or what occurred to them. Samantha Hopper and her baby Courtney had been lost since 1998, and they were eventually recovered this week. Samantha was pregnant when she mysteriously disappeared. His wife and he are considering doing a service for all three of them. Thank you so much, and God bless.
The thought of Samantha, her little girl, and her unborn kid being trapped in that car is heartbreaking. Let’s say a prayer for them! Amen
