Kelly Cook, 15 years old, disappeared from her home in Alberta in 1981, making it one of the most well-known cases in the province.

On Wednesday, April 22nd, 1981, Kelly Cook, a 15-year-old girl from Standard, Alberta, Canada, was at home with her younger sister Marnie and younger brother Heath. Kelly and her family had originally hailed from Montreal, but had been living in Standard for three years.

Standard is a small farming community located about 70 kilometers northeast of Calgary, with a population of less than 400 at the time of Kelly's disappearance. Despite being new to the community, the Cook family had settled in well. Kelly was a popular and academically successful student at school, and enjoyed figure skating.

On the morning of April 22, 1981, Kelly received a call from a man who identified himself as Bill Christensen. He asked her to babysit for him from 8:30 p.m. until midnight that same day. Kelly and her family did not know Bill Christensen, so they were skeptical.

It was reported that three days prior to calling Kelly, the same man had contacted a 17-year-old girl in town and asked her to babysit, using the same name, Bill Christensen. However, she had refused the offer because she was busy. When the man asked if she knew of any other babysitters in the area, she gave him Kelly's number.

Kelly's mother Marion sent her to school with the instruction to ask her classmates if they recognized the name Bill Christensen. However, "Christensen" was a relatively common last name in Standard, Alberta, so it was difficult to determine if this man was known to anyone. They planned to decide whether Kelly could accept the babysitting job based on this information.

When Kelly asked her classmates if they knew someone named Bill Christensen, some of them said that they had heard of him. Kelly told her mother after school that she would be okay to accept the babysitting job because people had confirmed that they knew the caller.

Kelly Cook: The Backup Babysitter

At around 8:30 p.m., a full-size American car pulled up in front of the Cooks' house. Kelly said goodbye to her family and got into the car with "Bill." She was supposed to call home after arriving at "Bill's" place, but the call never came.

The anxious teenager got into the car and was never seen again. Kelly's mother called various local establishments to see if anyone knew a man named Bill after Kelly failed to contact her. No one was able to vouch for him, so they called the police around 12:30 a.m.

Given the circumstances of Kelly's disappearance, authorities immediately launched a search. Every car passing through the area was pulled over and searched. They also searched woods, ditches, barns, and other vegetation, but there was no sign of Kelly anywhere.

On June 28, 1981, Kelly's body was found on the edge of Chin Lake, an irrigation reservoir about two and a half hours from her house. Due to the advanced decomposition of the bones, she had to be identified using dental records. The body had been tied with rope and cinder blocks before being dropped into the lake.

Kelly's body was found fully dressed, and the autopsy showed no evidence of sexual assault. The exact cause of Kelly's death was never fully explained, but some reports suggest that she died from strangulation.

The Possible Suspect

In this case, the only legitimate suspect is the man who claimed to be "Bill Christensen" and picked up Kelly to babysit.

A local gas station owner called the police to report that a person of interest may have visited his store and called Kelly. The man was described as being in his forties, 5'9" tall, with black curly hair, lightly tanned skin, and the appearance of a farmer.

The store owner described the man as being nasty and selfish when he asked to use the phone. The owner watched as the man dialed a local number and talked about babysitting.

According to the RCMP, Kelly's murder was a well-planned crime. On April 18th, for example, a man claiming to be "Bill Christensen" contacted another girl in town and asked her to babysit. When she refused, she gave him Kelly's phone number. This indicates premeditation and suggests that Kelly Cook may not have been the intended target.

There are also unconfirmed rumors on discussion boards about this case stating that a man called the local school in March asking for information about a young figure skater in town who had been featured in the local newspaper. He received the girl's phone number, and this is the same girl who later passed on Kelly's phone number to "Bill."

If this is true, it suggests that the killer had been planning to abduct a young local girl long before Kelly's disappearance and death.

Corporal Craig Green of the RCMP stated that it is clear the suspect had either lived or visited the area, as he was acquainted with Kelly and knew her name, as well as being familiar with the layout of the city and some of its inhabitants.

This situation is puzzling because if "Bill" was from Standard or the nearby area, how could he be confident that Kelly's parents wouldn't recognize him or his vehicle when he picked her up? Additionally, why was he never identified through the suspect sketch that was distributed shortly after the crime? If "Bill" was local, it would have been bold of him to kidnap and murder a girl so close to home.

"She was a good child," Kelly's mother, Marion Cook, told the media. "Kelly was doing very well in school and had plans for the future. She was always that way, even when she was a baby. She was very intelligent and mature for her age."

Final Words

Despite the investigation of 2,200 different suspects, Kelly's case remains unsolved. One of the police officers who worked on the case thinks that it may be solved through the killer's deathbed confession, though they acknowledged that the suspect may have passed away by now.