Unsolved-Crimes International started in a very limited way with about twenty cases. After two and a half years that number has grown to nearly ninety. Many times, if a person puts the names of one of the victims profiled on Unsolved-Crimes in a search engine, our website will be the first thing to come up.
Because of our growth we receive many questions about who we are and what we do. We hope this FAQ will be instrumental in explaining our organization and its purpose.
Q: What exactly is Unsolved-Crimes International and what does it do?
A: Unsolved-Crimes International is made up of a Yahoo news group and an independent website. Our purpose is to advertise unsolved crimes on the Internet so that the victims of these crimes will not be forgotten and that people with information about these crimes will be encouraged to contact law enforcement.
Q: Aren't there a great number of ways to publicize this type of thing in the media?
A: Not really. Generally, newspaper, magazine and television coverage of crime is a one shot affair; the information is not constantly before the public. Even continuing coverage of a crime will die down and be forgotten after a while if there is not a quick resolution. Sensational cases that capture the public's attention still go forgotten after a year or so if they are not solved. Paper fliers are seen, then torn down and thrown away. Milk cartons and other mass-market items with pictures of missing children are discarded after use and forgotten. Unsolved-Crimes offers a permanent place to display the crime and remember the victims.
Q: What is required for a case to be publicized on Unsolved-Crimes?
A: There are instructions for submitting a case on the submissions page that must be filled out and sent to the Submissions department. Private individuals also sign a Waiver form that simply states the person who submits the case understands that our organization does not investigate these cases, we only publicize them and try to help the family find other resources. Our organization contacts law enforcement to make sure we have the details correct and that a crime has been committed, or in the case of an adult disappearance, that there is a possibility that foul play was involved. If the case can be verified, it will be placed on the website.
Q: How much does this cost the victims' family.
A: Unsolved-Crimes International is a volunteer organization. At the present time, no one is receiving a salary for his or her work. Nothing at all is charged for publicizing a crime. Although the organization would accept donations to help defray the cost of website maintenance and computer needs, the owners have decided that under NO circumstances will Unsolved-Crimes accept money from a family member with a case on the website. We do not want to even give the impression that we are charging or soliciting funds for what we are doing.
Q There doesn't seem to be a lot of details on some of the cases. Why don't you provide more information?
A: We are not investigating the crimes, nor are we asking members and visitors to solve the crimes. Our purpose is to remember the victims and provide a way for people with information to know who to contact. Often, there is not much information available. Many times law enforcement will ask us to withhold certain information because, in their opinion, the investigation would be impeded if the certain details were known to the public. We will always honor such requests from law enforcement agencies. There is always enough information, however, for people to recognize if they have knowledge of the crime.
Q: Do you really think any good will come from what you are doing?
A: We feel that much good comes from the fact that victims are not forgotten with time. But if you are asking if we think that the website or Yahoo group will be instrumental in solving crimes, the answer is quite simply: We have no way of knowing what results the information will bring. But we do know the more a case is publicized, the more readily it is available to the public, the more chance the case has of resolution.
Just recently a four year old child was returned to his father in Wichita, Kansas. He had been abducted by the non-custodial mother two years earlier and taken to Washington state to live. One person seeing a flier and making a phone call was enough to get the boy returned. By the same token, the television series Missing Persons shows pictures of real missing persons after each episode. The program has been credited with only one recovery. Was the effort then wasted? We don't think so.
Q: The Yahoo group seems to be a simple rehash of newspaper articles. It also seems to be heavily moderated. What's the point?
The newsgroup does two things. First it highlights a different case every two days or so. Second, because there are a thousand or so members, it also provides a forum to nationally publicize local cases.
It is moderated to make sure that its primary purposes are not lost in a blizzard of off topic posts. We also want to make sure that the crimes posted are real crimes.
Q: But that seems boring. I have many things I have to say about different unsolved crimes and much I have to offer to others in the group.
A: Then by all means join UC-OT which is the Unsolved Crimes Off Topic group. There you can post nearly anything, from jokes to inspirational messages to theories about the Jack the Ripper case. The only thing you can't do is flame or post complete articles from copyrighted sources.
Q: Does Unsolved-Crimes offer anything else?
A. We provide other resources available to unsolved crime victims, and make ourselves available to the families of the victims cases we publicize. We offer additional support services and resources, once a case is accepted to be publicized by our organization.
If you have any other questions about the organization, or have suggestions or comments, you can contact us at letters@unsolved-crimes.com