Bay Area Vegas shooting victim's family comforted to know she was happy at concert
SAN RAMON, Calif. (KGO) -- At least three of the 59 victims of the Las Vegas shooting were from the Bay Area. One of them is 57-year-old Denise Cohen, who grew up in San Ramon.
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Cohen's family just got to Las Vegas Tuesday and they say she loved concerts, so it brings them a big of comfort knowing she was happy in front of the stage before she died.
"Everyone who knows her will tell you she was a happy, free spirit," said Kristal Vogel of Antioch, who last spoke with her sister on Thursday.
Vogel had just attended the Jason Aldean concert in Concord and Cohen wanted to hear all about it since she would be seeing the country star Sunday.
"She asked me, 'How was it! Wish you were here.' The last thing she said to me was, 'Wish you were here' and how much fun she was having," Vogel told ABC7 News.
Vogel says she had a terrible feeling her sister wasn't okay as soon as she heard about the shooting but she didn't know for sure until Tuesday. Cohen and her boyfriend Bo Taylor were the last two to be identified.
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Vogel and Cohen's son Brandon arrived in Vegas Tuesday night.
"When we first landed it was not easy to come to Vegas -- you drive right by Mandalay Bay and it's like, uh... and people here are having fun...but it didn't take long for everybody to just embrace us," Brandon said.
Cohen graduated from California High School in San Ramon and was planning on attending the 1977 class reunion. She was living in Santa Barbara.
Vogel says it was clear Cohen was having a great time in Vegas. "She was excited. She was reporting the hole thing from Facebook and all the people she was meeting and all the fun she was having."
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The family is now bonding with relatives of the other victims. Vogel says he hopes to stay in touch with them. She also says she won't stop going to concerts.
"I am going to see Luke Bryan this month -- so no it's not going to stop me," Vogel added. "She wouldn't want us to stop. No evil is not going to control my life -- no way."
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