A warning about amateur sleuths in my town digging into cold cases

I live in a small town where a group of true crime fans started looking into a decades-old disappearance. They've been posting theories online and even visiting the family of the missing person. Last week, they shared a photo of a potential suspect's house, which isn't right. This kind of thing can scare people and hurt the real investigation. We should be careful not to overstep when we try to help. Has anyone else dealt with sleuths going too far in their community?

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finleywebb7mo ago

Yeah, saw something similar a few years back. Some folks online got obsessed with an old break-in case and started messaging the victim's grown kids, asking super personal questions. It got so bad the family had to make everything private and the local police put out a statement asking people to stop. They can accidentally tip off a person of interest or trample over real evidence. Best thing is to report solid tips to the cops directly, not blast names and addresses online. What did the family in your case say about the photo?

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the_leo7mo ago

Totally agree about not blasting names online, that always goes south. I saw a missing person case where amateurs online doxxed the suspect's cousin and flooded them with calls. It totally spooked the family and they stopped cooperating with the real detectives. The investigation stalled for months because of all the noise and messed up leads. Honestly, it feels like people forget there are real humans behind these screens.

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blakej987mo ago

Didn't they ask folks to stop sharing it?

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