Lambert and Cook disappearances: Local cases become subject of YouTube documentary

Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·4 min read

May 19—PRINCETON — Two disappearances that have been under investigation for almost 30 years are now the subject of a YouTube documentary, which includes new information discovered in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph's archives, that authorities hope will encourage people with memories of the case to step forward.

Mysterious WV, a YouTube channel featuring videos about cold cases, disappearances and other mysteries premiered a new video Tuesday evening detailing the case of two Mercer County residents, Brenda Gail Lambert and Mark Anthony Cook.

Lambert, who was then 22, vanished from her Bluewell home on July 26, 1992. The mother of two was last seen on the evening of her son's first birthday. She did not take her car and took only a few personal items, if any, with her, according to police reports. Since that time, her family has insisted that she would not have left her children.

Cook, who knew Lambert, disappeared as well. Investigators with the Mercer County Sheriff's Department later determined that Cook was last seen during the early morning hours of Jan. 14, 1993 as he was leaving Pedro's Bar, which was located at Airport Square near U.S. Route 52.

Over the years, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph has published several stories about the disappearances of Lambert and Cook. The maker of Mysterious WV, Sean McCracken of Charleston, said he researched the Telegraph's archives while he was putting together the 45-minute video about the case.

The new video was scheduled to premier 8 p.m. Tuesday on YouTube.

"My channel profiles cold cases," McCracken said Tuesday. "Missing persons, unsolved homicides, John and Jane Doe in West Virginia and the bordering states. This is going to be Episode 35 in just West Virginia alone. I think all together, if you count some on folklore and the paranormal, I've done well over 50."

McCracken started working on a video about the Lambert and Cook case when he was contacted by the Mercer County Sheriff's Department.

"Chief (Deputy) Joe Parks there got in touch with me himself," McCracken recalled. "He was one of a handful of law enforcement who contacted me directly for help, although he was the first one to do so in West Virginia, I might add. The others came from Ohio and Virginia."

Researching the Bluefield Daily Telegraph's archives while doing research for the episode yielded some new information.

"We came across something interesting that wasn't in connection with the case, but gave the Mark Cook case an entirely new twist," McCracken said.

Parks said the information could help with the investigation into the disappearances.

"We went through the archives and found that Mark Cook had a child, and her birthday was put in the Daily Telegraph for two to three years in a row," Parks said.

If any human remains are found, having DNA from a direct relative like a daughter or son could aid the identification, Parks said. The child's mother currently lives in Florida.

DNA profiles of suspects and convicted felons are kept in databases, and cases have been closed around the country with DNA mapping, Detective-Sergeant S.A. Sommers of the Mercer County Sheriff's Department said.

"We knew he had some family, but that was a direct link," Parks said of the discovery. "It's a nice little piece of the puzzle to have."

"I cover each of these cases in far more detail that they have ever been covered before," McCracken said. "This was produced in direct cooperation with Joe there and Brenda's family, and it was done utilizing just about every single resource possible including the original files. There will be a lot of information that was never heretofore made public, but there are still a lot of holes."

Parks said the Lambert and Cook went to school together and knew one another. One investigator, the late Chief Deputy Darrell Bailey, said in a 2006 interview with the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that he believed that the two disappearances are connected. And foul play is suspected.

The hope now is that people with knowledge about the case will share that information after almost 30 years.

"The basic idea is to get people might know something or saw something or heard something to come forward finally," McCracken said. "Speak up, it's been 29 years. I mean, that's long enough. We need to touch somebody's conscience and get them over their fear, and get them to speak up.

Anyone with information can contact Parks at 304-487-8390. Parks said that callers can remain anonymous.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

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