Turning cold case dead ends into breakthroughs with idiCORE 

Cold cases don’t fade for the detectives who carry them. They linger—demanding persistence, creativity, and the right tools to uncover what traditional methods often miss. For many agencies across the country, idiCORE™ has become the key that turns fragments of public records into actionable intelligence that closes cases, reunites families, and uncovers the truth. 

Below are real stories from investigators who used idiCORE to break open cases that once seemed impossible to solve. 

Building family trees and finding critical leads 

For one detective in the homicide unit of a large metropolitan police force, solving violent crimes requires piecing together the relationships, histories, and movements that connect people to places and events. His team conducts their own in-house genealogy work to identify victims’ family members and build family trees. It’s an intensive process that was once slowed by scattered, inconsistent public records. Today, idiCORE helps reduce that workload. By instantly surfacing relatives, associates, historical addresses, and linked records, idiCORE eliminates hours of manual cross-referencing and gives investigators a clearer picture of a victim’s connections in seconds. 

“In the violent crimes world, IDI is the best.”

The detective frequently turns to idiCORE when reopening the file of someone suspected in a cold case whose history may reveal new investigative angles. idiCORE’s comprehensive report is one of the biggest advantages when a suspect’s life has changed significantly over time, when records span multiple jurisdictions, or when investigators must build a timeline long after original leads have dried up. With a single search, idiCORE delivers a consolidated view of a person’s vehicles, owner histories, associates, addresses, and more. This level of detail can help to uncover long-forgotten threads, revealing patterns or relationships that may not appear in other systems. 

“With the comprehensive report, I’m not deciphering anything—I’m opening up a complete summary with a table of contents.” 

For agencies with limited resources, aging case files, or fragmented data systems, the clarity that idiCORE offers can be transformative. It means less time stitching together basic information and more time following real investigative leads.  

Closing cold missing persons cases with fresh, actionable intelligence 

One Special Victims Unit detective shared two powerful stories of how idiCORE helped close long-standing missing persons cases. 

Case 1: A missing woman located in another state 

A 35-year-old woman had been missing since 2022. Her husband reported her disappearance, then abruptly stopped communicating with police, raising concerns of potential domestic violence and leaving investigators with no reliable direction. Traditional searches produced outdated or conflicting information, and the case had gone cold. 

While trialing idiCORE, a detective conducted a search that leveraged idiCORE’s linked-address history, multi-source phone data, and real-time identity intelligence. Within seconds, idiCORE surfaced a current address and active phone number in New York—information that did not appear in other systems and that reflected recent life activity tied to the missing woman. Using that verified contact information, the detective called her directly, confirmed she was alive and safe, and then used the address details in idiCORE’s comprehensive report to coordinate with NYPD for in-person confirmation. 

Stalled for more than a year, the case was closed because idiCORE delivered a single, up-to-date identity record that reestablished her location and wellbeing. 

Case 2: A missing mental healthcare patient found safe 

A 33-year-old male walked away from a mental healthcare facility. With no known destination and limited family connections, traditional searches provided no actionable leads, and his trail went completely cold. His records were fragmented across jurisdictions, and nothing in the agency’s existing systems indicated where he might have gone. 

idiCORE was able to connect the dots between updated address histories, facility-linked records, and recent identity activity across multiple sources to surface a current address tied to a different mental healthcare facility in a neighboring county—information that had not appeared in any other database the agency checked. The detective called the new facility and confirmed that the missing individual was safe, in care, and accounted for. A months-long search with continual dead-ends was resolved in minutes. 

The detective described idiCORE as an everyday investigative companion that consistently reveals the information other tools miss. 

“I have used idiCORE for almost all of my cases regarding adults and have been able to get useful information that helped me gather a better understanding of the people I have been dealing with.” 

Saving time and resources: A missing death notice in California 

In another case, a crime analyst from a California sheriff’s department was investigating a suspect involved in a serious assault offense. The analyst searched several databases and found some general background information, but only idiCORE was able to surface a critical, case-altering detail: a verified death notification. 

The death record uncovered by idiCORE stood alone. There was no obituary, no public notice online, no matching record in local systems, and no confirmation in other investigative databases. Without idiCORE, the team would have assumed the suspect was alive and actively evading them. 

Before launching resource-intensive next steps like a search warrant, surveillance planning, and extended fieldwork, the team contacted the coroner to verify the information. The deceased flag surfaced by idiCORE was correct.  

That single, validated identity signal prevented weeks of unnecessary investigative activity, saved substantial personnel hours, and allowed the team to reallocate resources to other high-priority cases. 

“The information obtained from your database saved us further investigation, a search warrant, and countless hours of surveillance.” 

When every lead matters, idiCORE makes the difference 

Across homicide units, Special Victims Units, mental health–related investigations, and digital forensics teams, investigators trust idiCORE because it turns fragmented, outdated, or previously unseen information into a clear investigative path. What once required stitching together records from multiple systems can now be surfaced, linked, and interpreted in seconds. 

 idiCORE helps agencies close cases that once felt unsolvable through: 

• Locating missing persons across state lines using up-to-date address histories, multi-source phone data, and recent identity activity 

• Building genealogies and relationship maps with associate linking, shared-address logic, and family tree insights 

• Confirming sensitive details like death notices through multi-record death verification that catches what other systems miss 

• Surfacing vehicle histories or transfers of ownership with complete vehicle timelines that reveal who owned what, and when 

• Providing report-ready summaries detectives can trust, including comprehensive reports, chronological timelines, and consolidated identity snapshots 

As more departments evaluate identity intelligence platforms, they’re finding that the right data delivered at the right moment can reshape the trajectory of a case. For many agencies, idiCORE isn’t just another search tool; it’s the difference between a dead end and a breakthrough. 

Learn more about how idiCORE can support your department with actionable identity intelligence.