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UNSOLVED: Newspaper project making sure no case is lost to time

Going through old newspapers is like a trip back in time and a group of volunteers is making sure no homicide or missing persons case is forgotten.

LAKE CITY, Fla. — Time can be an enemy when investigating a crime.

Witnesses die, investigators retire, even files and evidence can be misplaced. 

But a cold case advocate in the Suwannee Valley area is working to make sure no case is lost to time.

"We were originally just supposed to be a podcast," tells Suwannee Valley Unsolved creator, Jason Futch, "Just a simple podcast made by a guy who was interested in the local cases and it turned into something a lot bigger than that."

Futch says as he researched and created a podcast about local unsolved murders in the Suwannee and Columbia County areas, it ignited a passion in him for cold case advocacy.

So when the University of Florida converted decades worth of microfilm copies of the Lake City Reporter into online editions, he had an idea.  

"Basically documenting every homicide case that has happened since 1967," explains Futch. 

He and a group of around 10 volunteers have been working through the newspapers, day-by-day, documenting every homicide or missing person's case reported.

"To make sure that these cases have been followed up on, there has been a successful prosecution in it and if we can’t find a successful resolution to it, we want to know why," he explains. 

So far, Futch says law enforcement has been receptive. Greg Burnsed with the Lake City Police Department says he speaks frequently with Futch about the cases the project has found, and it has been beneficial.

"It has stirred interest for us to pull these cases out and take a look at them, technology has changed so much," explains Investigator Burnsed, "So we are trying to go through these cases and resubmit evidence."

In some instances, Futch and the volunteers have found cases whose files have seemingly disappeared. Like the case of Leroy Mills.

Missing since March 22 of 1988. He was last seen leaving his home in Lake City. Two days later, his wallet was found in the dumpster behind a saloon on US-441.  The articles describe a massive search and even a task force formed, but he was never found.

"So I went down and tried to find any paper records and could find nothing, no record, no case number to find," describes Investigator Burnsed.

He was eventually able to find a listing for an evidence entry under Mills name, which had a case number, but what he found was disappointing.

"There was a case file with literally six pages," he says. 

 Just a report that Mills was entered into the National Crime Information Center as a missing person and an odd note.

"There was a sticky note attached to one of those pages where he was removed per FLDE, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, during an audit," says Investigator Burnsed.

Why Mills' name was removed from the system, Investigator Burnsed doesn’t know, but he says the articles Futch and the volunteers found have been helpful in piecing this case back together.

The articles contain names of the original investigators, neighbors and members of the task force which gives him leads to track down the missing case file and hopefully reopen this case.

"We just have to run down that one investigator that still has the case file so we can move forward," tells Burnsed.

The renewed interest in Mills' case is welcome news to his surviving family members who have had so many questions over the last 35 years.

"We never really knew what happened and right now today, I still don’t know what happened," tells family member, Jimmy Smart.

They say Mills was a kind man, who loved spending time with his family and they just want to know what happened.

"I will never understand why this happened to him. The world needs more people like Leroy was," tells his niece, Earnestine Jones.

Burnsed said he is interested in re-investigating the case and is grateful for the work of Futch and the newspaper project's volunteers.

"It is going to help and I am glad he is doing this," tells Burnsed.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Mills, contact the Lake City Police Department at 386-752-4344.

If you are interested in volunteering with Suwannee Valley Unsolved’s newspaper project, you can message the Facebook page.

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