Mapping and Tracking Upstate NY's Unsolved Cases
What Is THBF?
In the spring of 2022, I started a small personal project to map and track cold cases in New York's Capital Region. Currently, it has grown into a collection of over 250 unsolved cases across Upstate, Southern, Central, and Western NY. Now going public with my project, They Haven't Been Forgotten will hopefully give the public an easily accessible resource that allows everyone to view cold cases near them. Even if the chances are small, I hope that allowing people to see these locations may make them reconsider an odd event they may have witnessed in the past that could provide law enforcement with crucial information.
What THBF Is Not
We are not “citizen detectives” and we do not condone internet sleuths that sensationalize these very real cases. We are not a place to speculate or spread false information. We are not law enforcement nor do we have any intent on pretending to be. We are not a tip line, all tips are encouraged to be provided to the agencies listed with each case or to one of the agencies shown on the contact page.
What you should know
With the increase in true crime podcasts and countless shows focusing on serial killers, many individuals have found themselves enveloped by their fears of an unknown man lurking in the shadows, evading law enforcement time and time again. Those who consume "true crime content" and fictional shows like Law & Order have been shown to be less informed than the average person when it comes to real life crime statistics. Attacks by unknown serial offenders are no myth, but it is important we remember that the perpetrators of these crimes are usually not strangers but rather someone the victim knew.
In a 2007 study by the D.O.J., it was shown that 64% of female homicides were committed by the victim’s intimate partner or a family member. Only 10% of female homicide cases were committed by a stranger. Black women were 2 times more likely than white women to be killed by their spouse, and 4 times more likely to be killed by a boyfriend or girlfriend. The same study showed men are more likely than women are to be killed by someone they do not know, with 29% of male homicide cases in 2007 being committed by a stranger.
Another important topic to note is that according to a 2019 F.B.I. report, violent crime rates have actually been decreasing over the past 10 years, contrary to what many believe. However, when it comes to crime clearances, in 2019 only 61.4% of murder cases resulted in an arrest, whereas the same category had a clearance rate of 66.6% per the 2009 report. The independent organization Arrest Trends analyzed the FBI's Uniform Crime Report publications each year since 1964 and found that between 1964 and 2018 clearances for homicides in the United States decreased by 30.28%.
This data only means something when we remember that it only accounts for reported crimes. There are many persons considered missing who are no longer alive as a result of foul play. Until their remains are found or there is substantial evidence to make an arrest, they will remain excluded from the data falsely inflating the already low number of cleared cases. We aren't sharing this information to speak poorly of law enforcement. It could be said that the burden of proof needed to make an arrest has become harder to reach, and with that, we will hopefully see that the number of those wrongfully convicted of crimes will decrease in the future. We are sharing these statistics because we believe everyone needs to know the facts when it comes to who is most likely to be a victim, who is most likely to be the perpetrator, and where cases are going unsolved in order to make a safer and more just world for everyone.