| Columbia County Sheriff's Office |
David W. Harrison, Jr., SHERIFF James R. Sweet, UNDERSHERIFF
| Copyright ©2006 Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Hudson, NY 12534 |
SHERIFF DAVID W. HARRISON, JR. ANNOUCES
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COLD CASE PLAYING
CARD PROGRAM IN COLUMBIA COUNTY
May 20, 2008
Sheriff David W. Harrison, Jr. announced the implementation of the Cold Case Playing Card program in the
Columbia County Jail. The program is a project of Center for Hope, which is operated by Doug and Mary Lyall, of
Ballston Spa, NY. Their daughter, Suzanne, has been missing for over ten years. She was a student at Albany
SUNY and the Lyalls have dedicated themselves to helping other families face the crisis of a missing person. This
program seeks new leads concerning missing persons and unsolved homicides. Decks of playing cards will be
distributed to inmates at the county jail and each card contains a photograph and information about a missing
person case or an unsolved homicide. Inmates will be able to anonymously call a tipline and will be rewarded if
the tip leads to a successful arrest or prosecution. The New York State Sheriffs’ Association is providing monies
for the rewards and has distributed the cards to all New York jails.
“Inmates have a lot of time on their hands and they are in a unique position to know, see and hear things that may
not reach the eyes and ears of law enforcement,” Mr. Lyall said. “Mary and I are hopeful that this initiative will
solve crimes and bring a measure of peace and hope to families praying for the safe return of a loved one” or
answers to an unsolved homicide.
Sheriff Harrison said, “Some people in jail may have had interaction with many different types of individuals. They
hear about things or may have access to information that other people don’t have. Card playing is a common
pass time in jail and one of the Cold Case cards may jog someone’s memory. An inmate who has information can
call a free tip line from the phones in the jail. The cards have solved cases in Florida and even if only one cold
case is solved in New York …the effort is worth it.”
The program is modeled on a similar program introduced in Florida that resulted in solving several homicides and
new leads on numerous “cold case” investigations and has been funded through a grant from Senate Majority
Leader Joseph Bruno.
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COLD CASE PLAYING
CARD PROGRAM IN COLUMBIA COUNTY
May 20, 2008
Sheriff David W. Harrison, Jr. announced the implementation of the Cold Case Playing Card program in the
Columbia County Jail. The program is a project of Center for Hope, which is operated by Doug and Mary Lyall, of
Ballston Spa, NY. Their daughter, Suzanne, has been missing for over ten years. She was a student at Albany
SUNY and the Lyalls have dedicated themselves to helping other families face the crisis of a missing person. This
program seeks new leads concerning missing persons and unsolved homicides. Decks of playing cards will be
distributed to inmates at the county jail and each card contains a photograph and information about a missing
person case or an unsolved homicide. Inmates will be able to anonymously call a tipline and will be rewarded if
the tip leads to a successful arrest or prosecution. The New York State Sheriffs’ Association is providing monies
for the rewards and has distributed the cards to all New York jails.
“Inmates have a lot of time on their hands and they are in a unique position to know, see and hear things that may
not reach the eyes and ears of law enforcement,” Mr. Lyall said. “Mary and I are hopeful that this initiative will
solve crimes and bring a measure of peace and hope to families praying for the safe return of a loved one” or
answers to an unsolved homicide.
Sheriff Harrison said, “Some people in jail may have had interaction with many different types of individuals. They
hear about things or may have access to information that other people don’t have. Card playing is a common
pass time in jail and one of the Cold Case cards may jog someone’s memory. An inmate who has information can
call a free tip line from the phones in the jail. The cards have solved cases in Florida and even if only one cold
case is solved in New York …the effort is worth it.”
The program is modeled on a similar program introduced in Florida that resulted in solving several homicides and
new leads on numerous “cold case” investigations and has been funded through a grant from Senate Majority
Leader Joseph Bruno.
