Throughout this month, we’ve heard about NamUs, a federal database of missing and unidentified persons. This system allows law enforcement agencies and amateur sleuths to search and gather information about active cases. Networks and communities of volunteer detectives have grown online – sleuthing on their own time.

In an effort to make matching those lost and found easier, Reveal’s data team created a new tool using data from NamUs.

Reveal’s Ike Sriskandarajah visits with web sleuth Polly Penwell in Michigan.  She helped solve a cold case using a very basic home setup.  And Senior News Applications Developer Michael Corey explains the new Reveal tool that might help sleuths solve more of these cases in the future.