It's been over 30 years since Misty Copsey disappeared after spending a day at the Puyallup Fair with friends
Copsey was last seen by a bus driver when she was trying to get home after a day at the Puyallup Fair, now known as the Washington State Fair, in September of 1992.
Her name and case are familiar to many in the Pacific Northwest. But despite the notoriety, the disappearance of Misty Copsey has remained unsolved for decades.
It’s been more than 30 years since 14-year-old Misty Copsey went missing. She was last seen trying to catch a bus in Puyallup after a day at the fair with friends.
Even after all these years, the search for Misty is still a family affair.
What happened to Misty? Misty Copsey was last seen leaving the Puyallup fairgrounds.
Misty Copsey was last seen on Sept. 17, 1992. She had been begging her mother, Diana Smith, to go to the fair with friends for days. Diana gave her permission to go as long as she had a safe ride home, as she worked a night shift. She promised her mom she would take the last bus running from the fairgrounds.
On that September day, Copsey, along with her 15-year-old friend Trina Bovard, were dropped off at the Puyallup fairgrounds to go to the state fair.
They spent the afternoon at the fair and did what normal teenagers do. They rode the rides and ate all the sugary, deep-fried food. And at the end of the evening, it was understood that they were to find their own rides home.
So they split up with the agreement that Bovard would walk back to her home a mile and a half away, and Copsey would catch the bus to her home in Spanaway.
The last known sighting of Copsey was by a Pierce Transit bus driver who had an encounter with her as she was looking for a bus home. Unfortunately, the buses had stopped running by that time. He gave her instructions on how to catch a bus that ran later. With that information, she was off.
Misty Copsey was never seen again.
Unsolved Northwest: Who killed Misty Copsey?
Lack of physical evidence One of the biggest roadblocks in this investigation was the lack of evidence, but investigators did find one of Misty's belongings months after she disappeared.
The lack of physical evidence in this case was a major roadblock for investigators. Then, months after she disappeared, tips led to an official search of the rural area east of Buckley near Mud Mountain Dam.
Diana Smith, investigators and volunteers found a pair of jeans in the wooded area beside Highway 410 near milepost 30.
According to original police reports, Misty Copsey was last seen wearing a navy blue sweatshirt, baggy blue jeans and brown suede shoes.
Smith knew those were her clothes. She told police her daughter definitely owned them.
She was positive it was a sign her daughter was dead.
The clothing was found near the remains of two other young murder victims but at the time, police say the pants did not have Misty’s DNA, only that of an unidentified man.
Investigation rebooted in 2009 Detectives conducted new polygraph tests with original persons of interest.
Jason Visnaw is the Criminal Investigations Division captain with the Puyallup Police Department. He has been investigating Misty’s case exclusively for the last 14 years.
The Puyallup Police Department rebooted the investigation in 2009.
Visnaw said during that time, they went back and conducted new polygraphs.
"What you end up with are statements that are different than they were in 1992, because the memory is not perfect, especially when it concerns something that happened 30 years ago," he said.
There are many limitations facing investigators; the most frustrating being the lack of physical evidence.
"We would love to have more physical evidence pertaining to this case," Visnaw said. "We don't know where Misty is. In many cold cases, the person has been found."
Without Misty's body, the case is more difficult to solve.
"I always felt that we could solve this case before I retire and knowing that we may still be looking for Misty when I retire is very heartbreaking," Visnaw said.
A mother's search for justice Diana Smith did everything she could to find her daughter.
Captain Visnaw hasn’t been the only person looking to get answers. Misty’s mother did everything she could to find her daughter.
“She was always up and bubbly and fun. She was just a good kid,” Smith told KING 5 back in 2012. “I miss her a lot. She was my best friend.”
Misty's mother was very motivated to find her daughter. She expressed anger that her daughter had not been found.
“I know that she probably went through a very brutal thing. And, to have her home so I could go be with her and comfort her…that means the world to me. That could be all I could ask,” she told KING 5 reporters over 10 years ago.
After more than 27 years of looking for Misty, Diana Smith died in February of 2020.
“We always endeavored to find Misty, especially so that her mother would have closure," Visnaw said. "And the fact that her mother has passed away without knowing what happened to her is also very heartbreaking."
Once Diana passed away, a different family member stepped up to get answers. A family member who is closely related to Misty but never got to actually meet her.
This search for Misty continues A close relative who never actually got to meet Misty is still working to find answers.
Colton Smith is Misty’s half-brother through their mom.
"My mom, Diana, by every essence of the word, she's a fighter," he said. "I truly believe everybody has a purpose in this life, and her purpose, I wholeheartedly believe, is to be a mother. And unfortunately, with Misty, that was taken from her and it destroyed her.”
Colton Smith was born in August of 1998, just six months after Misty disappeared.
"I was robbed of a sister. I was robbed of an older sibling or a sibling in general. I'm an only child, so I could have had a big sister to help me face the world," he said. "Finding Misty is important to me just because that's blood, you know, and she's out there somewhere alone, and she deserves to be buried as a proper human being, with respect."
Colton Smith is determined to keep searching for answers, but the mishandling of the case by police in the early days of the investigation makes it even harder.
"In the early days of the case, Misty was labeled a runaway and she was not," he said. "Unfortunately, after speaking with two young girls from Spanaway Junior High where Misty attended and girls whom she was not friends with, I'd like to add, they continued to label her a runaway. And they pulled her off of the missing persons list."
Colton shares many of the same frustrations his mother did.
"I feel that if the Puyallup Police Department would have done their job correctly initially, in the early days of the case, when finding evidence and having that available to them was so important, we would be way further, and I would probably not even be having to have these discussions with them," he said.
Captain Visnaw says he understands their frustration.
"Current detectives in today's day and age are reviewing these cold cases and they're frustrated with the manner in which the case was investigated initially," Visnaw said. "That's very common because law enforcement has come a long way in the last 30 years; advanced training, and new technology. In those particular cases, the cold cases would have been worked much differently today."
It’s been more than 30 years since Misty went missing and Diana Smith spent the last 27 years of her life trying to find her daughter. Her son does not want that work to be in vain.
"Misty and my mom, our mom, they're both gone now," Colton Smith said. "They live on through me. They breathe my breath. And it's important to me that we solve this and bring closure to the family."