Cold Case Investigation

Maximize your cold case investigation strategies

A cold case can be frustrating for everyone handling the case. Whether you’re a law enforcement agent or a licensed investigator working on behalf of a victim’s family member, cold cases present an interesting problem. It’s common for cold cases to be decades old, and evidence from the time is often fragmented if it exists at all. It’s up to you to comb through all the records so you can try to come up with some theories. A people search engine could be the answer to making your cold case investigation easier.

Locate hard-to-find witnesses to help solve a cold case

One reason some cases can go cold is the fact that some witnesses may have been difficult or impossible to get in contact with. If you’re working on a cold case with insufficient evidence, there may be persons of interest you want to talk to and see whether you can get additional knowledge of the case. How do you locate witnesses so long after the case is officially closed? You can use a people search engine for your skip tracing needs.

  • A single witness can sometimes be the difference between solving a case and coming up empty-handed.
  • If you’re working on a cold case, the contact information you have for witnesses is likely no longer correct.
  • When you use a people search engine, you can more easily locate these witnesses so you can talk to them.


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Re-interview persons of interest in a cold case investigation

As you dig through a cold case, you may find that some of the interviews don’t meet your standards. For example, you may only have the shortened forms of interviews, or the interviewer may not have asked certain questions that could be incredibly important to understanding what actually happened at the time. It’s up to you to get contact information for those individuals that will allow you to re-interview them and ask them the questions you have. This up-to-date information could be available through a people search engine with tools like phone appends and address history searches.

  • Sometimes, the interviews you have for an existing case don’t actually have the information you need.
  • Doing another interview with a subject could be the only way for you to find a piece of evidence that can crack the case.
  • If you need up-to-date contact information for a subject, you can use a people search to get that information.

Get a cold case investigation software to uncover suspects with little forensic evidence

Cold cases are notorious for having very little evidence. After all, if the evidence was overwhelming, it’s likely that the case wouldn’t have gone cold. Licensed investigators get paid to use that very little evidence to find out more about the case and about the potential suspects. What tools can you use to turn your very small amounts of evidence into a theory? A people search engine should be your first stop.

  • Having a very limited amount of forensic evidence can be a serious barrier when it comes to understanding a cold case.
  • Turning whatever information you have into a theory is a vital part of rounding out a cold case.
  • Any time you’re looking to get lots of information from very limited information, you should perform a public records search.

Identify records from decades back

Most cold cases happened decades ago. If a case happened within the last few years, it’s more likely that you’ll be able to find a wealth of information that you can use to pursue a conviction. However, as time goes on, that unsolved case is more likely to become an official cold case. When you’re looking for records, you need to have access to records from many decades ago. With the right people search engine, you’ll be able to do that.

  • Understanding a cold case requires that you have access to records from today and from when the case happened.
  • Many cold cases happened decades ago, meaning you need records stretching back at least that far.
  • With the right people search, you’ll be able to get your hands on those records.

What can a people search do for your cold case investigation solutions?

A people search is an absolutely necessary tool for cold case investigation solutions, and Tracers data can help you understand exactly why. With features like batch processing and API systems, you can access billions of records spanning more than 40 years, giving you the ability to understand more about a case, even one that happened decades ago. Whether you have lots of evidence or essentially no evidence, Tracers data can help you craft theories and pursue a solution.

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What is cold case investigations software?

A cold case can be frustrating for everyone handling the case. It’s common for cold cases to be decades old, and evidence from the time is often fragmented if it exists at all. Cold investigations software makes investigations easier by quickly providing you with comprehensive records and other information you need to get started solving a cold case. 

Who can benefit from cold case investigations software?

Whether you’re a law enforcement agent or a licensed investigator working on behalf of a victim’s family member, you can benefit from using cold case investigations software to help comb through large amounts of records and come up with theories about why an investigation has run cold.

What does cold case investigations software reveal?

Cold case investigation software can reveal information about hard-to-find witnesses that can help you skip trace and get in contact with them, as well as contact information for other involved individuals that you may need to re-interview. Cold case investigations software can also help you find records from decades ago, as well as turn small amounts of information into larger amounts.

What do I need to get started with cold case investigations software?

A people search is an absolutely necessary tool for cold case investigation solutions, and Tracers cold case investigations software can help you perform a people search, phone appends, address history search, and more. With features like batch processing and API systems, you can access billions of records spanning more than 40 years, giving you the ability to understand more about a case, even one that happened decades ago. Whether you have lots of evidence or essentially no evidence, Tracers data can help you craft theories and pursue a solution.