200+ Coloradans Missing, Cases Gone Cold
DENVER (CBS4)- More than 200 people in Colorado have gone missing, their cases gone cold. Dozens of bodies have been found in the state, but remain unidentified.
Now, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has met with some of the families in hopes of finding new clues that could help bring closure and solve those cases.
"I decided to take the reins in finding my father," said McGlynn Nickel.
Nickel was directed to NAMUS, the National Missing and Unidentified Missing Persons System.
The NAMUS website collects information to help identify missing people. It might help McGlynn find her father, Thomas Michael Nickel. He was last seen in San Diego, Calif. when McGlynn was 7 years old.
"I would want to fill him in on everything and I would immediately start crying," said Nickel.
On Saturday, Nickel came to the "Missing in Colorado" gathering in Lowry to find answers. The event was created by Beth Buchholtz, a community service officer for the Longmont Police Department.
"I always hold out hope we can help the families of the missing," said Buchholtz.
She learned how other states brought families of missing people together with investigators and succeeded in finding new clues.
"Sometimes the smallest information can provide a lead, you know, a description of a vehicle, a description of tattoos," said Buchholtz.
When asked if she had thought that maybe her father didn't want to be found, Nickel replied, "I have and that hurts me more than anything else."
Nickel plans to attend the FOHVAMP meeting in Denver on Oct. 1. FOHVAMP, or Families of Colorado Murder Victims and Missing Persons, specializes in helping families of the missing to cope with the process of unknowing.
Howard Nathan is a veteran newsman. Decades later, he still enjoys writing a clever sentence, asking the tough question and talking to people in Colorado. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Howard and read his bio.
