For the first time in the history of Wyandotte County, the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department has a Cold Case Unit. We are very excited to see this unit and the possibilities of finding answers to questions of the past missing persons, murders, assaults, and other crimes which have happened in our community for years.
According to KCKPD, the unit will review all unsolved criminal investigations awaiting the discovery of new evidence and will prioritize them by solvability.
We have assembled a unit of highly motivated and experienced detectives,” KCK Police Chief Karl Oakman said in a press release. “Kansas City, Kansas,
has roughly 285 unsolved homicides spanning five decades which we believe will benefit from a fresh review, as well as advances in DNA and other forensic testing. The family of these victims deserves justice and closure.”
The unit, consisting of three full-time detectives, will be led by Capt. Angela Garrison has been with KCKPD for 27 years.
“I’ve been a detective for 14 years, and during that time, I have worked several cold cases,” Garrison said. “I can truly say that one of the best experiences of my career has been delivering news to a family that we have a resolution for their loved one’s case. I would love to be able to do that for more families in our community.”
According to the National Institute of Justice, only around 7% of law enforcement agencies in the United States have a dedicated cold case unit.