A deck of playing cards – each including information about an unsolved crime in Kansas – will soon be distributed in state prisons and county jails across the state.

Contained in the cards are three unsolved murder cases from Salina and Saline County, a missing person from Salina, and an unsolved murder case in the Dickinson County community of Hope.

(CLICK CARDS TO ENLARGE)

According to state officials, The Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), in partnership with the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police (KACP), the Kansas Sheriff’s Association (KSA) and the Kansas Peace Officers Association (KPOA), have developed the Cold Case Playing Cards as a way of generating tips that may help resolve cases of unsolved homicides, missing persons or unidentified remains.

Each card in the deck includes brief information about an unsolved crime along with a phone number for anyone with information to call: 1-800-KS-CRIME. These cards highlight case details in the hope that a person or persons familiar with a case will come forward with information leading to its resolution. The Cold Case Playing Cards will replace current decks of standard playing cards available in prisons and county jails. Decks will be placed in dayrooms and other common areas, and available through the commissary for purchase by KDOC residents.

Other states have solved multiple cold case homicides, missing person cases and suspicious deaths by making these cards available.

Development of the project began in March 2021 and included law enforcement partners, representatives from victim services, facility-based programs, private industry, media and families whose lives have been impacted by homicide. Through a submissions process that began in December 2021, local law enforcement from across Kansas provided 81 cases to be highlighted. A selection committee with representatives from KDOC, KBI, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office and local law enforcement prioritized 59 cases to highlight on the first deck of 52 cards.

The oldest case is from 1976 and the most recent case is from 2020. Unsolved homicide cases are from Cherokee, Dickinson, Doniphan, Finney, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Leavenworth, Mitchell, Montgomery, Osage, Saline, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte counties. Missing person cases are from Leavenworth, Lincoln, Pottawatomie, Saline and Sedgwick counties. The unidentified remains case is from Geary County.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OF THE CARDS