Sandra Coke, the missing 50-year-old federal investigator from Oakland was found dead near a northern California park last week, the Associated Press reported.
The Alameda County Coroner's office confirmed Coke's identity, who had been missing since August 4. The Oakland police spokesman Officer Johnna Watson did not discuss the cause of her death.
Coke worked as a capital case investigator for the federal public defender's office in Sacramento since 2009, and had been assigned to probe capital cases that were appealed to federal court to ensure that death sentences had been fair, news reports said.
Coke's former boyfriend Randy Alana remains a person of interest. The 56-year-old registered sex offender and Coke were seen together on the day she disappeared, police said. Alana had been arrested on August 6 on an unspecified parole violation. They reportedly dated each other more than 20 years ago, a family friend Laura Burstein said.
Dan Abrahamson, another friend, said that he reappeared in the area and reached out to Coke for help, the AP reported.
Coke disappeared after leaving her Oakland home on August 4 at about 8:30 p.m. after telling her daughter she was meeting with someone. Her daughter called police when Coke did not come home that night. Oakland police found Coke's 2007 Mini Cooper convertible on the next day a few blocks from her home.
"She passionately devoted her professional life to helping the poor and those who endured difficult childhoods," her family said in a statement. "All of us will miss Sandra's beautiful, giving spirit."
