Brooke's still gone, leads 'thin'

For the Wilberger family, the past year has been full of tough days.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays — all have come and gone with no word on their beloved Brooke. But today could be the hardest day of all. For today there is no escaping the fact that 365 long days have passed since then 19-year-old BYU freshman Brooke disappeared from the parking lot of a Corvallis, Ore., apartment complex.

"Obviously, this is a very emotional time for our family," said Brooke's brother-in-law, Zak Hansen. "Tuesday's going to be a rough day; it's been a year and she's still not home."

Hansen and his wife, Brooke's sister Stephanie, were the last known people to see her. They left Brooke that Monday afternoon cleaning lights in the parking lot, and returned to find her cleaning supplies, flip-flops, car, keys and cell phone, but no Brooke.

A massive search ensued, and police explored every avenue. While they are still chasing leads, none of the many tips police have received has led them to Brooke.

"Quite honestly, the leads are getting thinner, as far as work still left to do, but we still have a couple people we're looking at and some leads we still have to follow up," said Corvallis Police Lt. Ron Noble. "If we had exhausted every lead and looked and had nowhere else to look, then it would be a cold case, and it's not a cold case."

Her family has spent many sleepless nights imagining what might have happened to Brooke, and a year later, they still just want her back.

"I think most of us as family understand it's been a year, and you almost think that if she is still alive, her condition can't be great, and so I don't know if we almost even want that, but you know, we just want her back," said Hansen. "So I guess it's a closure that we're looking for."

Police want badly to provide that closure for Brooke's family, who they have become close to over the course of the investigation.

"In working with the family, and maintaining a relationship with them, I want to give them something that can help ease their pain, but I don't have anything, and that's difficult," Noble said. "I've been in law enforcement for over 17 years, and our job is to respond and solve the problem, to fix it. And we've been unable to fix it so far, and that's frustrating."

The family plans to spend much of today reflecting on Brooke but will also hold a press conference and cater a lunch for law enforcement officers who helped in the search.

"We're going to do this catered lunch and probably spend a good portion of the day with some of these people," Hansen said. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to see them, and some of the state police that were heavily involved in the beginning."