Current:Home > Scams"Cold case" playing cards in Mississippi jails aim to solve murders, disappearances -FinanceAcademy
"Cold case" playing cards in Mississippi jails aim to solve murders, disappearances
View
Date:2025-04-13 10:33:56
A Mississippi organization is trying to solve cold cases with a special deck of cards.
The Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers created "cold case" playing cards that have information about various unsolved homicide and missing persons cases, printing 2,500 of the decks to be distributed within seven jails.
Each deck features 56 cold cases. There are 20 missing persons cases, according to Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers CEO Lori Massey, and 36 unsolved homicides on the cards.
The cards each have photos of a missing or deceased person, and information about the circumstances under which they died or were last seen.
Massey told CBS News that the organization was inspired to release the decks after learning that other Crime Stoppers units nationwide had used the technique to successfully get information about cold cases.
"We are not the first, but we are the first in our state to issue them," Massey said. "It's not my idea, I just borrowed it from someone else."
The technique has a record of success. In 2009, a similar pack of playing cards distributed in Minnesota helped identify a set of remains as a missing woman. In 2017, arrests were made in two cold cases in just one week after playing cards with case information were distributed in Connecticut jails.
Inmates who report information that leads to the discovery of a body of a missing person or an arrest in a case would receive $2,500, Massey said, though she added that the Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers have not figured out how people in jail could receive the funds. Different Crime Stoppers organizations have different incentives, Massey said.
"We can't put the money into their commissary account or anything like that," Massey said. "So we're going to have to figure out how we're going to get them the money. But not everyone's serving a 15-year sentence. These are our county jails. ... We're very hopeful that this will lead to something."
Massey said that families of those listed on the cards were "appreciative" of the initiative. Lacy Moran, whose father Joey disappeared in 2019, told CBS News affiliate WLOX that she hoped the cards would lead to more information.
"I'm hoping this is a new community that we haven't reached yet," Moran said. "Along the coast, everyone has heard Dad's name and I'm hoping there's some people who still haven't heard and this is going to solve something."
- In:
- Mississippi
- Cold Case
- Missing Persons
- Missing Person
Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
TwitterveryGood! (52)
Related
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Amy Schumer Crashes Joy Ride Cast's Press Junket in the Most Epic Way
- Nuclear Energy Industry Angles for Bigger Role in Washington State and US as Climate Change Accelerates
- Prince George Enjoys Pizza at Cricket Match With Dad Prince William
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- How Prince Harry and Prince William Are Joining Forces in Honor of Late Mom Princess Diana
- Coal Mining Emits More Super-Polluting Methane Than Venting and Flaring From Gas and Oil Wells, a New Study Finds
- Environmentalists in Chile Are Hoping to Replace the Country’s Pinochet-Era Legal Framework With an ‘Ecological Constitution’
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards’ Daughter Sami Shares Her Riskiest OnlyFans Photo Yet in Sheer Top
Ranking
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Fernanda Ramirez Is “Obsessed With” This Long-Lasting, Non-Sticky Lip Gloss
- Plagued by Daily Blackouts, Puerto Ricans Are Calling for an Energy Revolution. Will the Biden Administration Listen?
- Bud Light sales dip after trans promotion, but such boycotts are often short-lived
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- Judge prepares for start of Dominion v. Fox trial amid settlement talks
- Nuclear Fusion: Why the Race to Harness the Power of the Sun Just Sped Up
- Despite GOP Gains in Virginia, the State’s Landmark Clean Energy Law Will Be Hard to Derail
Recommendation
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
Disney sues Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, claiming 'government retaliation'
Inside Clean Energy: How Should We Account for Emerging Technologies in the Push for Net-Zero?
Who bears the burden, and how much, when religious employees refuse Sabbath work?
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
House Republicans hope their debt limit bill will get Biden to the negotiating table
Shaquil Barrett and Wife Jordanna Announces She's Pregnant 2 Months After Daughter's Death
Inside Clean Energy: Here’s How Compressed Air Can Provide Long-Duration Energy Storage