Cops Get Search Warrant for Jogger's Husband

July 16, 2008 — -- Authorities investigating the murder of Nancy Cooper, a mother of two who went missing after going for a jog near her North Carolina home, obtained a search warrant for Cooper's home as well as permission to take forensic evidence from her husband, Brad Cooper.

"At around 2 a.m. this morning the Cary Police Department obtained a search warrant for the home that the Cooper's shared, both vehicles and for Brad Cooper himself," Police Chief Pat Bazemore said in an early morning press conference.

Investigators said they believe that Cooper's murder Saturday was neither an "isolated incident" nor a "random act of violence."

Bazemore said that investigators worked throughout the night but still have not made any arrests or named a suspect or person of interest in the homicide. Police have not revealed how she died.

The search warrant will allow investigators to do a much more thorough search of the couple's upscale property, as well as permit them to take forensic evidence from Brad Cooper, Bazemore said.

Cooper, 34, was last seen by her husband at 7 a.m. Saturday morning before going for a jog, police said, and was also spotted by friends the night before at a neighborhood dinner party.

But when a friend who had planned to meet Cooper later on Saturday became concerned when the stay-at-home mother of two failed to show up, she alerted police.

"Her friend Jessica Adams called 911 Saturday at 2:51 p.m.," said Deanna Boone, interim deputy public information officer for the town of Cary, N.C., who said she did not know why Cooper's husband was not the one to report her missing.

After more than two days of searching, a local man walking his dog reported seeing a body on the banks of a storm water retention pond within miles of Cooper's home.

Late Tuesday evening, authorities confirmed that the body was in fact that of Nancy Cooper, and declared the case a homicide investigation.