NORFOLK, Va. — On September 23, 1987, a beachcomber at Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge in Isle of Wight County made a gruesome discovery.
It was the bodies of 14-year-old Robin Margaret Edwards and 20-year-old David Lee Knobling. Investigators determined the two were shot to death but had very few leads, and the case has remained cold for more than 30 years.
The families of the victims have never received justice.
“Start putting these stories back out there,” Virginia Del. Danica Roem previously told 13News Now. “Start talking about these cases again.”
Roem has pushed for resources in the General Assembly to thaw out cases just like the Isle of Wight murders from 1987.
It's now been a year since a brand-new online database managed by the Virginia State Police started getting the public more involved.
“Your viewers have a chance to see some of these cases and weigh in and tell law enforcement you know something about this,” said Roem.
The Virginia Cold Case Database allows people to search for the unidentified, the missing, and the unsolved cases across the Commonwealth dating decades back.
Since the website first launched, it's grown to include over 200 cases, and an unsolved homicide in Roanoke dating back to 2003 received new leads thanks to the database.
But site traffic hasn’t been as busy as expected. Leaders are hoping more people take advantage of the resource.
You can submit a tip directly from a specific case’s page and see the agent’s contact information at Virginia State Police. The tool will help investigators pursue new leads and help families finally find closure.
“Even if we solve one unsolved homicide, one missing persons case, or one unidentified persons case, then that $100,000 investment of taxpayer dollars will be money well spent at that point,” said Roem.