A bill that passed both chambers on Friday will create a new centralized database for West Virginia's cold cases. 

The sponsor of Senate Bill 539,  Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, said it goes beyond just the organization of cold cases. It is also for people who are missing and victims who have still not been identified. The senator is hoping this database, coupled with new forensic science will be a starting point for closure.

“It’s just like pieces of a puzzle when they’re scattered all over the place you can’t see the big picture," Takubo said. 

Under this bill, law enforcement agencies across the state will be able to send information to the Fusion Center where it will then be compiled into one database where agencies will be able to collaborate and even see possible patterns. 

The database would include unsolved violent crimes, sex crimes, missing persons and unidentified human remains. Takubo said it also sets the stage for groundbreaking partnerships between the Fusion Center, Marshall University and West Virginia State Police. 

“Marshall’s doing some pretty amazing stuff with forensics and about to get into more forensic genealogy working in collaboration with our State Police and Fusion Center," Takubo said. "We have currently 38 west Virginians that are unidentified that we don’t know who they are. It’s important to start collecting that data, so we can better track that. What’s more exciting is the technology that’s coming. I think we’re going to finally be able to get some indication and get some closure to those families.”

The database will be shared among law enforcement and is designed to contain every detail investigators have gathered so far. Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, who used to be a state trooper, said in committee that this database is much needed.

You can read more in an article by Anna Saunders published in the MSN.COM web site at: https://tinyurl.com/5n6t4n6f.