Arrest Made in Brooke Wilberger Case

CORVALLIS, Ore., Aug. 3, 2005 — -- A man being held in Albuquerque, N.M., has been charged with the murder of Brigham Young University student Brooke Wilberger, who has been missing for more than a year, police said.

Joel Patrick Courtney, 39, was being held on rape and kidnapping charges in New Mexico, but Corvallis (Ore.) Police Department Captain Ron Noble refused to say in an interview with The Associated Press what led police to to the suspect. He said the 19-year-old Wilberger had not been found.

Courtney was arrested Tuesday at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque. He has been there since November, when he was ordered held on $100,000 bail on charges of rape and kidnapping in a case involving a student at the University of New Mexico.

Corvallis police officials are expected to hold a news conference today with the representatives from the Benton County District Attorney's office and members of Wilberger's family in attendance.

According to a record check run by ABC News affiliate KATU-TV in Portland, Ore., Courtney has a criminal history in both Oregon and New Mexico that includes sexual abuse charges.

Courtney went to prison in 1985, when he was 19, and did nine years of hard time in the Oregon Department of Corrections for a sex abuse case in Washington County.

In January 2004, Courtney was arrested on a drunk driving charge. He was supposed to appear in court on May 24, 2004, the same day Wilberger disappeared, but he never showed up.

Court records show he called the Lincoln County Court to say he was in Corvallis on his way to Newport that day, but he never made his appointment.

As for the incident involving a student at the University of Mexico, the victim told police Courtney pulled a knife on her and demanded she get into a car. She said she was then tied up with a shoestring and sexually assaulted.

She was able to break free and run for help. Her ability to identify Courtney and get him locked up may have been just the alarm Corvallis police needed to look in his direction.

KATU-TV has also learned that Courtney's family in Beaverton has been cooperating with investigators in the Wilberger case for several months.

Although she did not go on camera, Courtney's sister told KATU-TV her brother had a troubled childhood and that her thoughts and prayers were with e Wilberger's family.

Missing But Never Forgotten

Wilberger disappeared from the Corvallis apartment complex managed by her sister on May 24, 2004. Police say Wilberger, 19 at the time, was last seen helping with some cleaning chores. Authorities believed Wilberger's disappearance was suspicious because her cleaning supplies were left behind, her flip-flops were found in the complex parking lot, and her cell phone and other personal items were left behind in her sister's apartment.

Hundreds of volunteers have helped in the search for Wilberger and held several prayer vigils for her safe return. Wilberger's story has generated national headlines, and her case was featured on "America's Most Wanted."

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent retired investigators to help local authorities with the search and released four computer-generated photos showing how she might look with various hair lengths and styles. A "Find Brooke" Web site (findbrooke.com) was set up to help in the search and the Wilbergers had pink bracelets with the address of the Web site and national hotline tip number made to increase awareness of the case.

The national spotlight on Wilberger has faded in the year since her disappearance. Though official organized searches for Wilberger ended in June 2004 and fewer bracelets have been sold in recent months, Corvallis residents have not forgotten about the missing student.

Possible New Clues in Recent Months

Recently, investigators announced that Wilberger's disappearance could be connected to a green minivan tied to one of two key persons of interest. Police have said they know where that van is, although they have not indicated whether they have searched it for evidence.

In June, police also said they wanted to hear from someone named "Brian," who placed a 911 call to report seeing a van of the same description driving erratically. The call came from Rickreall, a town located about an hour away from Corvallis, about an hour after Wilberger disappeared. So far, police say they never heard from that caller again.

Officials have focused on several different persons of interest in the case but have been unable to directly link anyone to Wilberger's disappearance.

For a while, police investigated a man who has been accused of stealing women's underwear from three different Portland-area college dormitories or laundry rooms, including an April 2004 burglary at Oregon State University's Sacket Hall -- which is near the site where Wilberger was last seen.

In February, though, Corvallis police said they had found no evidence that linked the alleged panty thief, Sung Koo Kim, to Wilberger's disappearance. However, investigation sources have told KATU News, two other persons of interest remain under investigation in the case.

Authorities have offered a $30,000 reward for information leading to Brooke Wilberger's recovery. The Wilberger family has offered another $6,000 while a separate $5,000 reward has been offered by the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation.

Reported by ABC News affiliate KATU News in Portland, Ore.