UPDATE @ 4:45 p.m. (Feb. 26): The search for the remains of Cheryl Coker has yielded no results, Riverside police Detective Travis Abney said Tuesday.
UPDATE @ 7:15 a.m. (Feb. 24):
The Midwest chapter of Texas EquuSearch is planning a search today for the remains of Cheryl Coker, checking several locations where they have pre-scouted with Riverside police investigators.
David Rader, director of EquuSearch’s Midwest chapter, said 15 members of his team will join the police officers. This weekend’s search will not include help from the public, he said, just police and his team of background-checked and experienced searchers.
EquuSearch has not and will not reveal where they will do their work.
“I think it’s the worst game of hide-and-seek you could play,” Rader said. “How can one or two know what a thousand can’t find?”
INITIAL REPORT
Texas EquuSearch, a search and recovery organization dedicated to searching for missing persons, is assisting the Riverside Police Department in the Cheryl Coker disappearance and homicide case.
RELATED: Cheryl Coker case: Legal expert weights in on why suspect is not charged
David Rader, director of the nonprofit group’s Ohio chapter, confirmed early Friday that his organization offered to help Riverside police, and that the department accepted that help.
Riverside police this week announced that their investigation into the disappearance of Coker, who was last seen Oct. 2, is now a homicide. They also announced that her husband, William “Bill” Coker is their suspect in Coker’s death. Bill Coker is not charged with any crimes.
Rader said because of the weather, they likely won’t begin their search until this morning, and it will be limited to professionals. He also won’t disclose the location of the planned search because the case remains under investigation.
READ MORE COVERAGE
>> Cheryl Coker case: Riverside police name suspect, call disappearance a homicide
>> Cheryl Coker disappearance: Everything we know right now
Texas EquuSearch, based near Houston, Texas, with several chapters in other states, has been involved in high-profile missing persons case, including the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
Closer to home, they helped search for the remains of Katelyn Markham, a college student who went missing in August 2011 in Butler County. The Fairfield woman’s remains were found in April 2013 in Indiana, and her death is unsolved.
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