Cracking cold cases

Police are adopting a new tool to help them solve cold cases – the Internet.

The OPP North West Region has placed more than 60 unsolved cases in the unsolved investigation section of the recently redesigned website, which allows the public to go over some of the homicide cases police have so far been unable to solve.

Sgt. Shelley Garr, community services co-ordinator for the OPP North West Region, said some cases posted online have little information and need the public’s help to add more detail. In the past, OPP put information on posters and placed them around town with hopes of collecting new information.

"We are hoping that when people are reading through the circumstances of an investigation (online) they might think they have something (new) for police," Garr said.

Garr said some cases date as far back as 1961 and as current as 2009. The site shows photographs of items involved as well as photos of the victims and murder weapons.

"It’s all there for anyone to access," she said.

The public can contact the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) through the website. The OPP has placed a new team called the Unsolved Homicide Investigation Teams (UHIT), which will spearhead most of the unsolved homicide cases.

The team has two headquarters: one in London and one in North Bay.

In addition to the OPP website, the Thunder Bay Police Services website also gives information on cold cases. Bob Herman, chief of Thunder Bay Police, said the detectives involved give their soul to see that justice is served and the victims get some closure.

"Any detective that works on a homicide case that is unsolved is faced with (the victim’s family) throughout their career," Herman said. "Even if they are solved you stay in contact with the victims families. I’ve (stayed in contact with) families of investigations from 12 or 13 years ago."

Herman said the amount of people using the Internet helps to branch out more information that otherwise wouldn’t be able to be given out. Although the Thunder Bay police website has been up longer than the OPP’s they have not received much information from it, he said.

Herman said he wants the cases of Sandra Johnson and Scott Dove solved before the end of his career.