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Web sleuthing continues to attract dedicated true crime fans. Podcasts, websites, and social media platforms have brought together online communities of like-minded people who are interested in solving cold cases of murders and missing persons. 

The number of internet investigators is actually growing faster than the much-needed role in professional policing. Big city police and the FBI often have CSI labs and facilities to deal with physical evidence like fingerprints and DNA. But most authorities don’t have enough personnel to process the sheer volume of online forensics, social media footprints, and available video.

Organizations like the National Criminal Justice Training Center organize events every year for both professionals and enlightened amateurs. And they highlight information-sharing tools, clearinghouses, and organizations. 

NamUs (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System), and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are both nationwide clearing houses that have extensive information on missing people.

And sadly, most bodies that are found are of people that have been reported missing, sometimes decades ago.

The U.S. has an estimated 18,000 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Less than 7% have special units for solving cold cases or scrubbing the internet for evidence. And too often police forces lack the resources and time to solve old cases.

Web sleuths can help solve unsolved cases. And sometimes in a missing person case, a viral post or two can put more eyes on the situation. 

Web Sleuthing: Gabby Petito and Abraham Shakespeare

Last year in the Gabby Petito case videos on TikTok tagged with #GabbyPetito were viewed over 900 million times.

As the missing person case of Gabby Petito went viral, a YouTuber and fellow “van lifer,” Jenn Bethune, realized that she and her husband Kyle had been in the same area when Gabby went missing.

 After searching through their videos, they found images of the white van that Brian Laundrie had taken home.  The couple informed the FBI and uploaded the video to social media.

On Saturday, September 18, police went to where the van had been parked and found Gabby’s missing body close to where Jenn’s video was shot.

Another internet detective discovered that Gabby’s last two Instagram posts didn’t have a tagged location. All the rest of her online content was tagged. 

Eventually, it was noted that her murderer had done the last 2 posts.

In the meantime, web investigators helped compile videos of the couple and did extensive research which saved the FBI time. Gabby and Brian lived online. And Gabby’s Spotify playlists, Brian’s reading habits, and marked digital hiking trails were uncovered.