EVERETT — More decks of cold-case playing cards are expected to be handed out in the Snohomish County Jail in an effort to generate tips about unsolved homicides and missing persons cases.
King County Sheriff’s deputies recently created a deck of playing cards similar to the one Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives put together last year. More than 280 decks of the King County cards are expected to be given to inmates here.
Meanwhile King County authorities plan to hand out 288 Snohomish County decks in their jail in Seattle.
Snohomish County sheriff’s cold case detective Jim Scharf also provided the jail here with 288 more decks of cold-case playing cards. The Snohomish County cards feature unsolved killings that date back to the 1970s and were the first in the state.
More than 4,500 decks have been handed out in jails and all the state’s prisons since Scharf and his former partner Sgt. Dave Heitzman created the cards.
Detectives have received a few helpful tips, Scharf said. None of those tips has led to an arrest, he said.
“We haven’t received anything earth-shattering,” Scharf said. “We’re hopeful and think they are beneficial and will continue to be beneficial.”
Scharf said some of the tips have come from other law enforcement agencies. Informants who have seen the Snohomish County cards have approached police officers they trust in other communities. Some of those tips have been helpful, Scharf said.
Detectives believe there are people who have information that could take killers off the streets and give grieving families answers.
Inmates are offered a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the dozens of unsolved cases.
Snohomish County detectives got the idea for the cards after learning that detectives in Florida had made several arrests based on information inmates provided after seeing similar cards there.
The Snohomish County cards are available to view on The Herald Web site at www.heraldnet.com.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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