Missing
Claranett Cooley
Cooley, approximately 1993
Date and time person was reported missing : 05/14/1993
Missing location (approx) :
Lake Wales, Florida
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Black
DOB : 01/08/1961 (60)
Age at the time of disappearance: 32 years old
Height / Weight : 5'3, 125 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Cooley has a scar on her wrist.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Cooley was last seen on the morning of May 14, 1993 at her apartment in Lake Wales, Florida. Her live-in boyfriend stated that they had argued the night before, but made up by morning and he last saw her at 8:00 a.m. when he'd left the residence to go to his mother's home. When her boyfriend returned at 9:00 a.m., she was gone.
Cooley's blue 1986 Buick was found parked there, her car keys were hanging by the apartment door, her clothes were still hanging in the closet and her purse was on the dining room table. Her shoes and jewelry were left behind as well. She normally kept a handgun in her purse, but it had vanished about two weeks before she did; it is unknown whether this had anything to do with her disappearance.
Cooley's family believes foul play is involved in her disappearance, as she was a dedicated mother and it is uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning.
Various leads have placed her living in different parts of the country, but none of them have been substantiated. She was employed as a pharmacy technician at the time of her disappearance and she has three children. Her case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Lake Wales Police Department
863-678-4223
September 2021 updates and sources
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Polk County Cold Cases
The Doe Network
The Ledger
October 12, 2004. May 24, 2018; picture added, Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
