Missing From: Hollywood, Florida
Missing: January 30, 1999
Age at Disappearance: 3
Height: 3′ 0″
Weight: 35
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Distinguishing Characteristics: Scars, Marks, Tattoos: Hispanic female. Pilar has a red birthmark on the bridge of her nose.
Details of Disappearance: Pilar’s father, Marco Rodriguez, was her custodial parent in 1999. He permitted Pilar’s babysitter, Melissa Cooper (often referred to in media accounts by her later married name, Melissa Jones or Harding-Jones), to take the child on vacation for two weeks on January 30, 1999. Cooper took Pilar to the Trail Apartments in Punta Gorda, Florida, located approximately 135 miles from the Rodriguez home in Hollywood, Florida. Cooper’s former boyfriend, a truck driver named Keith Allen Wilson, accompanied them. Cooper said that Wilson punched Pilar with a closed fist and knocked her head into a wall. She turned blue and had convulsions, but Wilson refused to get medical attention for her because she had visible bruises from prior abuse and he was afraid he would get into trouble. After Pilar died, he put her body in a black trash bag and disposed of the child’s remains in an unknown location. Wilson denied Cooper’s allegations and said she herself was responsible for Pilar’s death. In July 2013, Cooper reached a plea agreement with prosecutors: she pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder, and agreed to testify against Wilson. He was arrested in Kentucky and charged with first-degree murder.Wilson was tried for Pilar’s murder in the autumn of 2017. He, Cooper and Marco all testified, as did another witness, Jesse Clapham, who said he saw Pilar’s body wrapped in a blanket in the trunk of a car, with her foot sticking out. Clapham stated Wilson subsequently told him the police would never find Pilar’s body because he’d placed it in a septic tank. In October, after the jury deliberated for three hours, he was convicted of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison. Cooper faces up to 30 years in prison for being an accessory after the fact. Pilar’s body has never been found. Foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.
Investigative Agency:Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office 941-639-2101
If you have any information on this case, please contact CUE Center for Missing Persons at (910) 343-1131 or call the CUE Center 24-hour tip line at (910) 232-1687. All information submitted to CUE Center for Missing Persons is confidential.