Parents of Missing Student Appeal for Help
June 30, 2004 -- For Greg and Cammy Wilberger, life has been at a standstill since May 24 — the day their 19-year-old daughter, Brooke, disappeared.
It feels like "suspended animation," Greg Wilberger told ABC News' Charlie Gibson. "It just seems like a couple of days ago that everything took place."
"I just keep thinking positive and the time has passed like in a dream," added Cammy Wilberger. "You don't realize how long it's been."
Brooke Wilberger, a student at Brigham Young University, was last seen at an apartment complex her sister manages in Corvallis, Ore. A pair of her flip-flops left behind in a parking lot led police to believe that she was abducted.
Though more than a month has passed since their daughter disappeared, the Wilbergers remain hopeful that Brooke will return home safely.
"Each morning we wake up … and we're hoping that we'll hear something, so every day we're very optimistic that we'll hear," her dad said.
Alleged ‘Panty Thief’ Arrested
Corvallis police are holding 30-year-old Sung Koo Kim of nearby Tigard, Ore., on $10 million bail as a "person of interest" in the case.
Kim is accused of stealing women's underwear from three different Portland-area college dormitories or laundry rooms, including an April burglary at Oregon State University's Sacket Hall, very near the site where Wilberger was last seen. Police who searched his home reportedly found thousands of pairs of women's panties, as well as dryer lint traced to the apartment complex where Wilberger was last seen.
Kim has not been charged in connection with the Wilberger case and the Wilbergers say police have not given them any reason to believe that he may be connected to their daughter's disappearance. "They have to know for sure before they can make a conviction or a statement that he is a direct suspect," Cammy Wilberger said.
The Wilbergers say they're concentrating their thoughts on their daughter. "We're focusing on Brooke to get her home and don't really have the energy to worry about the police affairs, but we trust them and they're doing a great job," her father said.
The Wilbergers have been offering a $30,000 reward for Brooke's safe return. Now, they are offering a separate reward for any useful information about Brooke's whereabouts.
"We really believe that someone has information where she's at," Greg Wilberger said. "So we have added a second reward of $3,000 of any information that tells us exactly where she's at."
Cammy Wilberger said the family will not give up the search.
"We want to find Brooke, we want her to know that we love her and that we will find her," she said.
Anyone with information on Brooke Wilberger's whereabouts is urged to call the Corvallis Police Department Dispatch Tip Line at (541) 766-6989 or 877-367-2270. Or visit the Web site: http://www.findbrooke.com.