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National Cold Case Month: Nonprofit brings awareness to unsolved Texas cases

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Published  September 5, 2024 9:46pm CDT
Missing in Texas
FOX 7 Austin

Missing in Texas: Solve the Case nonprofit

A nonprofit is bringing more awareness to unsolved mysteries during National Cold Case Month.

AUSTIN, Texas - A nonprofit is bringing more awareness to unsolved mysteries during National Cold Case Month.

The nonprofit "Solve the Case" created the call to action. 

Founder Aaron Benzick's day job is a homicide detective in the DFW area. He created the "Solve the Case" website to raise awareness about missing persons cases and unsolved murders.

"We all have to work together because there's too many of these cases, and there's not enough law enforcement. We need to figure out how we bring in other sources, how do we empower families, cyber sleuths and the media to be a force multiplier for these victims?" he said.

Missing in Texas: Cecilia Huerta Gallegos

The trial of a San Antonio man charged with the 2019 murder of his wife is scheduled for next week, but the victim's remains have not been found.

National Cold Case Month was inspired by an initiative out of Omaha, Nebraska. The city made September a month to highlight their unsolved mysteries.

"Taking an entire month and focusing on some of these cold cases can absolutely make a difference and making sure some of these leads don't fall through the cracks," Benzick said.

Some of the oldest Texas missing persons cases on the site include Lisa Renee Wilson, Julie Ann Moseley, and Mary Rachel Trlica, a trio of girls from Fort Worth. They never returned home after going Christmas shopping on Dec. 23, 1974.

Lisa Renee Wilson

Another case is Harold William Roland, who was last seen near Sam Rayburn Lake on July 21, 1997.

He planned to go fishing. Three months later, his pickup was found burned in rural Angelina County. His boat trailer was found abandoned in a forest in San Augustine County, and his pontoon boat was hidden under trees on Lake Sam Rayburn. Pontoons on the boat had been shot. Roland was never found. 

Harold William Roland

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Benzick says while there are national databases like NamUs, the information may not be up-to-date, and he wants to improve that and aggregate it in one place.

"A lot of the cases that are entered in there by law enforcement have old contacts in them. What if there are new matches that are found? What if there are new updates, is law enforcement going through, taking the retired detectives out, updating it with the most recent contacts," he said.

He says no matter where you are, take a look at cases in your area, and make sure these names are not forgotten. 

"Some of these cases, family thinks a lot about, but other people may not know that these cases are out there. We want to have a place to organize all these cases," Benzick said.