Vanished in Columbus: Sacoya Cooper

On August 31, 2021, 33-year-old Sacoya Cooper left her home on Columbus’s West Side and was never seen again. A daughter, sister, friend and Black transgender woman with big dreams, she had a steady job, two dogs, and a place she’d worked hard to make her own. In a Facebook video posted not long before she vanished, Sacoya grins into the camera: “At the casino, winning.” It’s a flash of the joy her family says defined her-until everything changed.

“If she was off the radar, she would’ve slipped up somewhere-called, posted, something,” said Bre Belcher, Sacoya’s closest friend. “That’s how I knew something was wrong.”

A Night of Routine-and Then Silence

Sacoya left her house around 11:30 p.m. on August 31 to grab flavored bottled water-the only kind she drank. At 3:20 a.m. on September 1, Bre’s phone lit up. The voicemail was only a few seconds of dead air.

By morning, Sacoya still hadn’t returned. Richard and Bre tried to file a missing-person report that evening, but the station doors were locked after hours. An officer took a brief description in the parking lot and told them a detective would follow up.

Her brother James says he felt dread the moment he heard. He quit his shift mid-day, drove to Columbus, and spent weeks retracing her steps-walking the dogs through her usual routes, calling her phone, posting flyers, and checking familiar spots. “Something wasn’t right,” he said.

Early Investigation, Lingering Questions

Columbus Police later told the family there was no store surveillance showing Sacoya that night. In October 2021, more than six weeks after she disappeared, detectives recovered her 2009 black Ford Fusion on the city’s West Side, located using the department’s license-plate reader system, according to Detective Raddich at a February 2022 press conference. Police said the plate on the car did not belong to Sacoya; they have not publicly said whose it was. Investigators would not discuss what, if anything, was found inside the vehicle, citing the open case.

The family says communication from law enforcement was infrequent at best. They were told at one point the assigned detective had been on vacation; no interim investigator was introduced. “A backup should’ve been assigned,” James said. “Weeks went by with nothing.”

During the 2022 press conference announcing a $10,000 reward through Central Ohio Crime Stoppers, police said they believed Sacoya was the victim of foul play. They repeatedly referred to her by her birth name-a practice known as deadnaming, which advocates say is harmful and can hamper both searches and identification.

“They found the phone, they found her car-we still don’t know anything,” Regina said. “It feels like they swept it under the rug.”

Two Years Later, a Troubling Affidavit

In September 2023, an affidavit obtained by the family through a reporter shed new light-details the family says they never received directly from police. Signed by Columbus Police Detective Ronald Lemon Jr. and dated September 7, 2023, the document states that blood and .40-caliber projectiles were found in Sacoya’s recovered vehicle and that testing identified the blood as belonging to Sacoya Cooper. The affidavit also names Roger Smith Jr. as a person of interest in Sacoya’s earlier missing-person case; a .40-caliber handgun was recovered during an unrelated search and, according to the document, would be compared with evidence from Sacoya’s car.

It is not clear what, if any, results came from that comparison. As of publication, the family says they have not been briefed on those findings, and the Columbus Division of Police has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the affidavit and the status of the case.

In a phone call for this story, a man identifying himself as Roger Smith Jr. said he did not know Sacoya and ended the call.

“Missing White Woman Syndrome,” and Why Coverage Matters

Advocates say Sacoya’s case reflects a broader pattern.

“Missing White Woman Syndrome is real,” said Viktor Velstra, database administrator for LAMP (LGBTQ+ Accountability for Missing and Murdered Persons). “It’s not that missing white women shouldn’t be searched for-they should. It’s that LGBTQ+ people and people of color often don’t get the same urgency, resources, or respectful reporting. Deadnaming and misgendering in official records can even delay identification.”

When asked at the 2022 press conference if Sacoya’s case was handled differently, Detective Raddich said: “No, this is treated just the same as any other missing person case.”

Bre, who studied criminal justice, has built her own working case file from public records and tips. “At this point,” she said, “it feels like I’ve gathered more than the people who are supposed to be leading this.”

Who Sacoya Is to the People Who Love Her

Through every interview, the same portrait emerges: Sacoya was loyal, quick to laugh, and determined to make a life on her terms.

“She kept me laughing,” Regina said. “She had a good heart.”
“Once you take a life,” James said, “there’s no coming back. Someone knows what happened.”
“To know her was to love her,” Bre added. “If you know something, say something.”

Timeline: What We Know

• Aug. 31, 2021: Sacoya leaves home late evening to buy flavored water, according to her partner.
  
  

• Sept. 1, 2021, 3:20 a.m.: A silent voicemail from Sacoya’s phone reaches Bre.
  
  

• Oct. 2021: Columbus Police recover Sacoya’s black 2009 Ford Fusion on the West Side; the plate on the car does not belong to her, police say.
  
  

• Feb. 2022: Press conference: police cite suspected foul play; $10,000 reward announced (Central Ohio Crime Stoppers).
  
  

• Sept. 7, 2023: Affidavit states Sacoya’s blood and .40-caliber projectiles were found in her car; a .40-caliber handgun from a separate search is to be compared with evidence in her case.
  
  

• 2024–2025: Family reports minimal updates from authorities; the case remains open.
  

Description at the Time She Went Missing

• Name: Sacoya (Sacoya) Cooper
  
  

• Age then: 33
  
  

• Height/Weight: 5′5″, ~145 lbs
  
  

• Hair: Black, in lemonade braids
  
  

• Clothing last seen in: Black-and-white dress, Baby Phat sandals
  
  

• Vehicle (recovered): Black 2009 Ford Fusion
  

If You Have a Tip

Even the smallest detail can matter-something you saw, heard, or remembered later.

• Central Ohio Crime Stoppers: 614-461-8477 (tips can be anonymous)