Missing Melissa Highsmith's mother poses next to a composite sketch of her daughter's suspected kidnapper in a Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper article. These two cases were investigated separately until 2003, when the national DNA database CODIS revealed that samples from both crimes matched the same man. Bogle, an airman hailing from Texas, and Kalitzke, a junior at Great Falls High School, had fallen for each other and were even considering marriage, the Tribune reports. We've collected five of the most notorious cold cases in American history, ranging from 1892 to 1996. . These case files range from unsolved murders, missing people, and suspicious deaths, but they are all unsolved mysteries and disappearances overall. In 2022, NoVA Police Solved Multiple Murders Stretching Back to 1987. [image via screengrab/Justice for Angie/Facebook], Have a tip we should know? Lists of solved missing person cases include: List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000 List of solved missing person cases: post-2000 See also [ edit] Biography portal History portal Lists portal List of kidnappings List of murder convictions without a body List of people who disappeared mysteriously: 1990-present After more than 25 years, she was finally identified as Joyce Meyer, a woman who had drifted apart from her family after moving to Virginia in the mid-'80s. Police said Josephs parents have since died, and no one claimed the child or reported him missing at the time his remains were discovered. Bur was charged after DNA evidence allegedly placed him at the scene of her death, according to police. In March 1959, the Spokane community was shaken by the disappearance of a little girl, 9-year-old . Related: Top 10 Grim Cold Cases With Recent Twists And Turns. As for the moniker "Little Miss Nobody," Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes had only one succinct comment: "I hope we never hear that name again. 4 Mysterious Cold Cases to Know in 2021: Unsolved Murders, Disappearances Entertainment Four Mysterious Cold Cases That Authorities Just Can't Crack From the death of a possible Cold. For decades, the Cascade County Sheriff's Office continued to work on it, with multiple detectives attempting to make progress over the years. By searching public records (such as death certificates and newspaper clippings), forensic genealogists are then able to construct a family tree that can point them right to the suspect, even if that suspect has never provided their DNA to any public database. Her family believed that a man who worked in a liquor store near her apartment was responsible, but authorities never made an arrest. She was found two days later, sexually assaulted and strangled. It was the rare case in which a fleeting moment of conscience, and not new technology, was the key to unraveling a three-decade-old crime. Using DNA from living relatives, the little girl was finally identified as Sharon Lee Gallegos, a 4-year-old who was abducted from her grandmother's home in Alamagordo, New Mexico 500 miles from where her body had been discovered in July 1960. They were previously linked to one other death and two kidnappings, Yost said. Investigators tracked every lead they could, but the case grew cold. Their killings went unsolved until this week when investigators announced they had cracked what is believed to be the oldest case solved with DNA and forensic genealogy. On January 7, 1969, 23-year-old Jane Britton failed to show up for an exam. Boeing Worker Claims $754.6M Powerball Jackpot, Barrier-Breaking Black Army Officer Finally Awarded Medal Of Honor, FL Blogging Bill Says Political Writers Should Register With State, The Poop On Free-Range Cats And Your Lawn And Garden [Block Talk], 7 Good News Stories: Sense Of Belonging; Secrets To 70-Year Marriage, 5 Best Instagram Spots In Northeast Ohio, Flowers, Rockefeller, Sun, 5 Fun Places To Swim In Ohio A Swimming Activity Of Every Kind. A double homicide of two teens in Montana has been solved after more than 60 years thanks to forensic genealogy. The Hazelton, Pennsylvania, girl was found later the same afternoon, raped and strangled. Evelyn Marie Fisher-Bamforth, then 32, was raped and beaten to death on January 22, 1980, by someone who broke into her home and attacked her in her sleep, WTVJ reports. Case Solved: On Oct. 26, 2021, Des Moines police announced they had charged William "Billy" Rulli, 35, with first-degree murder Stanley "Mike" Golinsky, 56, of Des Moines, was found dead under a downtown railroad bridge on the Des Moines River Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Investigators have solved a 28-year cold case and a Texas man is in custody. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The hope is that they'll be able to provide more families with the answers they deserve and, in many cases, have spent years waiting for. That left Angela and Mikey stranded in Alton, Missouri. She performed well in school, becoming an honors student during her academic career. "The babysitter called the mother later, saying she really wanted the job, had a nice big yard and cared for other children as well.". If you've ever thought that you may make a good homicide investigator, there is one important qualification (other than having an exceptionally strong stomach) that you should know about. Still, he hopes that it can be used to help law enforcement improve public safety and "[prevent] tomorrow's victim.". The family did not see Melissa for decades until November. Three days later, her badly beaten body turned up floating in the Hudson River near Hoboken, New Jersey. But James never saw or spoke with his recent bride ever again. There are cold cases, and then there is the murder of James Tappen Hall, a Montgomery County (Maryland) Sheriff's deputy who was moonlighting as a security guard at a local country club when he was shot in the club's parking lot in October 1971. REMAINS OF NY TEEN BRITTANEE DREXEL FOUND 13 YEARS AFTER GOING MISSING IN SOUTH CAROLINA, SUSPECT CHARGED, Her mother, Dawn, called the discovery of Brittanees remains "the beginning of a new chapter. In the summer of 1960, the body of a young girl was found near a highway in Yavapai Country, Arizona. With each breakthrough, investigators have gotten one step closer to finding answers and, in turn, a resolution. The latest in DNA technology has helped solve a 31-year-old murder case. In this case, it appears justice will indeed be served; as of this writing, Sinopoli is being held without bail, awaiting trial for Biechler's murder. Cold Case Solved: Widow Says Her Late Husband Killed and Incinerated Mother and Child in 2002 Colin Kalmbacher Apr 10th, 2021, 7:51 pm Angela Mack-Cox and her four-year-old son Thomas Michael "Mikey" Rettew were killed and disappeared in 2002. She was stabbed 19 times, and prosecutors say evidence at the scene suggested a sexual motive. Unfortunately, no substantial leads were obtained in the case, and Beichlers murder went cold. Publish Date 11/11/2020. Of those suspects, one in 20 will be arrested, and just one in those 100 charged will be convicted. Detectives began watching Sinopoli, and before he boarded a flight at Philly International Airport, they collected a discarded coffee cup that provided the DNA sample they needed to nail him. The young mother and dance instructors own father discovered her remains brutally beaten, duct taped and sexually assaulted in her vehicle parked outside the mall. REMAINS OF LITTLE MISS NOBODY IDD AS NEW MEXICO GIRL, 4, ABDUCTED IN 1960 AND FOUND IN ARIZONA DESERT. Cold Case Murder of Krystal Beslanowitch, 1995 : Solved through forensic technologies. 5 Minutes On. According to Garden Grove Deputy Police Chief Amir Al Farra, she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death. The serial killer committed at least 12 murders and 120 residential burglariesthen he disappeared without a trace. (Photo: Codymcarlson / CCBYSA3.0) The Pecos, Texas Police Department . Another missing persons case that was solved in 2021 is that of Kara Vaughn who disappeared more than 25 years ago. Unfortunately, the 62-year-old mystery has only been partially solved the cops are still on the lookout for Gallegos' abductor, although it seems a safe bet that if they're still alive, the extremely long, doggedly determined arm of the law will catch up to them eventually. Here is a look at some of the top cold cases solved in 2022. Jeff Highsmith, Melissas younger brother, said his family had undergone tests through genealogy service 23andMe and received the results on Nov. 22 showing there was a match with Melissas kids. With the help of partnering labs, forensic genealogists are able to use preserved samples to create a DNA profile of the culprit and then use that profile to search public databases for any potential matches. That detail was a small mole on Geddes' right ear, which was enough for police to make a tenuous connection to Geddes. Prisoner with a conscience helped St. Louis' cold-case unit cross one off the list. until you are in jail. Going over the old case files, they zeroed in on Larry David Smith, who had been interviewed in connection with the slaying in 1973 but was never seriously considered a suspect. playlist_add. In a statement, the Fairfax County Sheriff's Department thanked "several generations of FCPD detectives" along with Othram, the company that supplied the genome sequencing technology and expressed its conviction that said the technology will help them to resolve many more unsolved cases in the future. Greg Harder of the Elkhart County Police noticed a possible piece of DNA evidence that was missed. (NCMEC/ Highsmith family Facebook page). 5 Cases We Believe Will Be Solved in 2021 CrimeCon Jan 05, 2021 2020 certainly held a number of surprises for the true crime community. However, in 2020, Bedford Police Sgt. 40 year old Kara Vaughn disappeared from Natchitoches, Louisiana on November 3, 1993. He was found guilty of at least three other rapes in Ohio. Highsmith disappeared from Fort Worth, Texas, Aug. 23, 1971, when she was just 21 months old. [emailprotected]. SALT LAKE CITY Salt Lake City Police have solved a 42-year-old cold case. Tamika Reyes was only nine years old when her mother, 26-year-old Anna Kane, was found strangled and left in the woods outside of Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1988. Then he torched their bodies on his property. As it happened, around this same time, Cates was in the hospital in North Carolina, and as Florida detectives were shoring up their case, Cates blurted out to a nurse that he had killed someone in Florida decades prior. The police found four bodies in the usually tranquil park. The Cascade County Sheriff's Office announced on Tuesday that it has closed the file on the 1956 double homicide of Patricia Kalitzke and Lloyd Duane Bogle, resolving the . The DNA profile matched Eric Drummond. Clippings from the Great Falls Tribune were part of the Cascade County Sheriff's Office investigative file into the 1956 murders of Patricia Kalitzke and Lloyd Duane Bogle. When 53-year-old John Stagner was beaten to death in his bed in Orlando, Florida, in 1992, police honed in on a suspect almost immediately, according to Fox 35 Orlando: Ronald Cates, a friend of Stagner's who happened to be a drug addict. Recent Unsolved Murders 2021 On Uncovered's website, you can view over 100 real unsolved case files put together by our amazing community members. X Unsolved Cases Unsolved Homicides Unidentified Remains Missing Persons Robberies X News 2023 Press Releases 2022 Press Releases . . 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Cates had developed a habit of borrowing and pawning power tools from Stagner, a city maintenance worker, in order to support this habit; even Cates' own family members had long suspected his involvement in the killing, but police were never able to gather enough evidence to support a probable cause warrant for his arrest. While his identity was a major break in the case, police are still working to determine who killed Joseph and why. Raymond Moody, 62, pleaded guilty Oct. 19, 2022, in Georgetown, South Carolina, to raping and killing 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel in 2009. The main problem with positively identifying her was the fact that her fingertips had been cut off, and entreaties to the public for help yielded nothing, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. This finally happened in 2022, when DNA information provided to public websites by members of the killer's family allowed authorities to focus on Scott Grim, a resident of the area who had never been charged with any crime. Barbara stated that it angered both her and Clarence and she told Angela she needed to come back and pick up Mikey [and] that she didnt want to just be a babysitter. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.pagones@fox.com and on Twitter: @steph_pagones. A spot of blood on the victims shirt that seemed to suggest the culprit stood over the body and bled on the shirt as he ransacked the victims pockets.