Deschutes County sheriff’s detectives work to find answers, bring closure in unsolved ‘cold cases’

(Update: Adding video, comments from Sgt, Jason Wall)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Every day, Deschutes County sheriff's detectives are diving deep into unsolved "cold cases" around the county. Some are decades old, but the search for answers doesn't stop.    

Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Jason Wall said Tuesday the public may believe a case has gone cold, because the investigations are not readily available to the media. 

But he said all detectives actively work on unsolved cases assigned to them. Detectives are working hard to bring answers to the community and to the victims' family and friends.  

"One of the most important things I would like to convey to the public is that regardless of how old chronologically a case may be, our Detective Division is working tirelessly to bring a conclusion to that case for the victims involved," Wall said.

There are also two retired law enforcement officers working together in the Cold Case Division. 

"Currently in our Detectives Division, we have a lieutenant who oversees the entire division and two sergeants," he said. "One sergeant oversees the five criminal detectives and one sergeant oversees the two street crimes detectives."

What defines a cold case? Is there a set length of time? 

"It is sometimes difficult to define a cold case," he said. "In some cases, a case -- although it may appear to be cold to the general public, is still actively being worked on by law enforcement. And so it's difficult to specifically define a time frame or a set of circumstances that might dictate the case is cold."

Last year, five cold cases were investigated. 

Wall explained how many detectives work on a case.

"It depends greatly on how many cases are active at any given time," he said. "All detectives carry a caseload."

"However, if there's a major incident that occurs, as a division, all detectives come together and work on that one case," he added.

 The sheriff's office sometimes asks for the public's help. If you have any information on cold cases, you can always reach out to detectives.