Ways to help with cold cases

Resolving more than 220,000 unsolved homicides and disappearances takes money, information and people. Here is how you can help.

It sometimes costs hundreds of dollars just to get a case file, because agencies can charge for locating the file, redacting personal information and so on. 100% of donations go to investigation and DNA testing funding.

Check a group's 501(c)(3) status before donating: apart from the tax deduction, a 501(c)(3) is not making a profit off of tragedy, and its use of funds is scrutinized and transparent.

Yes, your family tree can help us solve cold cases! Find out more at the link below.

Got a tip on a case? You can call anonymously or give your name — it's up to you.

Tip line: 1-385-CLUE-313 (385-258-3313)

What does “opting in” mean? It means giving permission for your DNA profile to be used in helping identify unknown individuals and solve violent crimes. GEDmatch.com (opens in a new tab) was the first public genealogy site to allow law enforcement to compare crime-scene DNA to user-uploaded profiles. When you upload your DNA to GEDmatch, you must actively confirm that you agree to have your data included in comparisons with unidentified remains and/or crime-scene DNA.

Opting in takes just a few minutes: log in to the company where you tested, download your raw DNA file, and upload it to GEDmatch.

Important: to be included in both unidentified remains searches and violent crime investigations, you must choose to OPT IN during setup.

In addition, DNA Justice (opens in a new tab) is a nonprofit built for volunteers to upload their DNA results exclusively for law enforcement comparison against profiles of perpetrators and unidentified human remains for identification purposes. This database is small, but growing, and is completely free for law enforcement uploads.

Visit our FIGG Resources page for a video showing the GEDmatch upload process.

There are tens of thousands of unidentified bodies in the U.S. On NamUs.gov (opens in a new tab), a national centralized repository and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases across the United States, you can compare leads on different cases.

Share your genealogical family tree on public sites for genetic genealogists to find. Along with uploading your DNA, this helps our work with law enforcement to bring resolutions to cold cases.

You can also alert law enforcement to funding opportunities, such as the Rosie Tapia Identification Project (RTIP).

Volunteers do a great deal of the Coalition’s work: research, records, genealogy, and local help in the places cases happened.