Attorney General Bird creates a new team to investigate Iowa’s 400 cold cases

A new team of investigators in the Iowa attorney general’s office will soon begin tackling some of the most difficult criminal cases in the state.

The cold case unit will include a lead investigator, a lead prosecutor and three field investigators spread across the state. Together, they'll work with local police departments and sheriff’s offices to find, and follow, new leads in unsolved cases.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said the unit will focus on cases involving murders, missing persons and unidentified remains. Once a local department has exhausted all active leads in a case, the state will step in to assist in the investigation.

Bird said the goal is to find closure for the families of cold case victims.

“We will never give up. We will never stop searching. We will never stop turning over those leads,” Bird said. “Now, we know that there are some cases where there are more leads than others, or could be more leads than others, so obviously those will get the first focus. But we, in our unit, will be working on every cold case in Iowa.”

According to Bird, there are more than 400 cold cases across the state including more than 100 just in Polk County. Polk County Sheriff Kevin Schneider said his department relies on retired officers who volunteer their time to investigate cold cases.

“We don’t have the resources, and like the attorney general says, it’s important for these families to have closure,” Schneider said, adding that he appreciates having state assistance available to departments across the state. “Where we may not always agree on our political views, we agree on justice and also on justice for the victim’s family.”

In the past, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation operated a cold case unit, but it closed in 2011 when federal funding ran out. The new cold case unit in the attorney general's office is supported by around $530,000 in a state budget increase approved by the Iowa Legislature this year.