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One of the most favored options is the sketch, which can be expensive or take a long time. Plus, some sketches are left somewhat vague so viewers aren't too quick to conclude they don't know the person. That's why Mike Murphy, the coroner in Nevada's Clark County
-- home to Las Vegas -- is a strong supporter of photographs. He started posting photos online shortly after he was appointed to the job in 2003
-- when, Murphy admits, he was too inexperienced to realize the potential backlash. The website launched amid controversy and plenty of media coverage, but Murphy received quick validation: Within 24 hours, a corrections officer recognized one unidentified body as that of a frequent inmate, and a second body was identified 48 hours later. Since then, the online photos have led to nearly 50 identifications, he said. Another 200 or so remain unidentified. Murphy said he's motivated by seeing how painful life becomes for relatives of the missing, and he said families helped by the public photos are grateful. "They're searching for their loved one 24 hours a day, seven days a week
-- going shopping, driving their car, they're always looking," he said. "When you can give them resolution, you give them peace." Atlanta-based medical examiner Randy Hanzlick, who helps moderate NamUs, predicted that computer-imaging technology would eventually improve enough that it could replace the need for sketches or photographs. But until then, Simley is sticking with photographs in Milwaukee County. He calls it a necessity. "We're desperate at this point," he said. "These are cold cases that have been collecting dust in our archives, and we're trying to bring them new life. If I had a family member missing, I wouldn't want someone to give up. We're not giving up." ___ Online: NamUs: http://www.namus.gov/ Milwaukee County unidentified list: Clark County, Nev., unidentified list:
http://bit.ly/rruTAx
http://bit.ly/rsirtt
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