TCSO launches cold case webpage in hopes of finding answers

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- The Travis County Sheriff's Office launched a cold case page on its website in hopes of reaching "people who can help solve these decades-old mysteries," according to a TCSO release.

The page, on the TCSO website, is organized by decade, the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and will periodically feature specific cases at the top, the release said.

The categories include photos of each victim and a description of the case, TCSO said. An "unidentified" category is also listed for cases where the victim's identity is unknown.

The featured cases will have video vignettes with additional information about the case. Those videos will be shared across TCSO's social media, TCSO said.

“While these cases may have gone cold, the Cold Case Unit’s mission to solve them has not,” Sheriff Sally Hernandez said in the release. “We feel deep compassion for the loved ones of these victims. Some of them have gone most of their lives without answers and without justice. We hope this will jog memories and bring information forward.”

Featured cold case

The first featured cold case is the 1982 case of Ruth Elizabeth Bettis. The 19-year-old was found shot in a pasture off Sprinkle Cutoff Road in northeast Austin in November 1982.

“We are still in contact with Ruth’s mother to this day and, like her, we want answers,” Cold Case Unit Det. Javier Hernandez said in the release. “We hope that someone out there still has that missing piece of the puzzle, that they will see this video and share that information with us. No detail, no matter how small you think it may be, is insignificant.”

If you have any information on a TCSO cold case, you can submit a tip online, call and/or leave an anonymous tip to the TCSO Tip Line at 512-854-1444 or Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477 or email the cold case unit at coldcase@traviscountytx.gov.