The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "missing persons reports" ...
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Gone Forever: A True Story of Marriage, Betrayal, and Murder
Susan McFarland was reported missing in November, 2002. Her charred, decomposed body was found 53 days after her disappearance, and investigators suspected her husband Richard McFarland. He maintained his innocence as circumstantial evidence mounted, but finally admitted his guilt on the first day of jury selection. Author Diane Fanning examines the months leading up to the crime, and delves into information about Richard and the details of the police investigation.
Tags: Murder; domestic violence; missing persons; jury trials; plea bargains; murder confessions; non-fiction book
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Seeking Justice for Jill: The Behrman Murder Investigation
WXIN-TV reporter Kimberly King spent most of 2006 looking into the police investigation of the death of Jill Behrman, an Indiana University-Bloomington sophomore who disappeared in May 2000. Her body was found in 2003, "miles from where detectives thought (she) had been killed." For the intervening three years, "investigators built their case around a convicted woman's false confession." But after the body was discovered, a lead detective sealed the public records regarding the case and did little to pursue it further. Spurred by a request from a relative of Behrman, WXIN worked on the story for three years, finally spending 2006 blowing it open. As a result, police moved further on the case.
Tags: Murder; Indiana University; police; homicide; closed cases; homicide investigations; missing persons; false confession
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"Without a trace: People go missing, killers go free"
A 10-part series revealed that "because of ignorance, indifference or poor training, police in Washington state and around the nation routinely fumble missing-person reports." In its investigation, the newspaper built its own database of missing persons cases using reports from more than 270 police agencies statewide. The newspaper also built a second database of unidentified bodies through autopsy records and other reports.
Tags: missing persons reports; missing children; cold case; police; police records; National Crime Information Center; CAR; computer-assisted reporting; unsolved murder; homicide; unidentified body; Freedom of Information Act
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Death Without A Ripple
The Los Angeles Times Magazine reports on just one of L.A. County's Jane or John Does that the medical examiners office tries to match with an identity each year. Jane Doe #59 was found in a gully, strangled to death and afterwards burned. No one ever called to claim her and she was never matched to any missing persons reports. Eventually she was cremated and placed into a grave simply marked "1996" in the county cemetery.
Tags: Jane Doe; medical examiner; forensics
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False Hope
"Our report revealed the dark side of the relationship between so-called 'psychic detectives' and the families of missing children. There exists a widespread misperception on the part of the public regarding the success of these individuals in solving missing persons cases. We found some of the most famous modern psychic detectives have no credible track records at all, and yet are cashing in on the grief of families desperate for answers."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; DISKETTE
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John Spano (Field of Dreams)
When the new owner of the New York Islanders met with Nassau County officials in the spring of 1997, he was looking for more than just a new arena for the hockey team. John Spano demanded the right to develop a half-billion dollar project in the heart of the 1.3-million person county. But when Spano missed a scheduled $16.8 million payment for the team, a small team of Newsday reporters began looking into the dispute and his claims of vast wealth. They unearthed a startling tale of the fraud he used to win approval from the hockey league and major banks.
Tags: city government
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No title (id: 12523)
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a series of comprehensive and exclusive reports about the turmoil surrounding freshman U.S. Rep. Enid Greene Waldholtz, R-Utah, and her husband Joseph. The Post-Gazette investigation found that the family trust Joseph Waldholtz said was the source of his personal wealth didn't exist, where Waldholtz fled, and contributors on Enids' Congressional campaign who denied making contributions or were nothing more than ficticious names. (Nov. 14 - 19, 23, 24, 28, Dec. 12 - 14, 16 1995)
Tags: Roddy O'Toole Shelly Torry CAR Husband of Utah congresswoman missing Fraud 43 pgs.
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No title (id: 3098)
CBS News reports on the danger of pools, hot tubs and whirlpools constructed with only one drain; if grate is missing powerful suction can entrap a person; no government agency requires that grates be maintained, August 1984.
Tags: None