About Not Yet Solved
A volunteer public-research and case-awareness platform for people who believe that serious, disciplined open-source research can move unresolved cases forward.
Why unresolved cases matter.
Nearly 340,000 homicides went unsolved in the United States between 1965 and 2021. Each represents a family without answers, a community without closure, and a perpetrator who has never faced accountability. Unresolved cases do not expire. The obligation to preserve and research them does not either.
Why volunteer public research has value.
The Golden State Killer was identified through genealogical DNA submitted by a private researcher. The Z340 cipher — unsolved for 51 years — was cracked by an independent team with no law enforcement affiliation. Systematic, scoped, and disciplined volunteer research adds real value to cases that have gone cold. The key word is systematic.
What this platform is.
NotYetSolved.com is a volunteer public-research and case-awareness platform. Members organize public information, build timelines, review public records, preserve source links, track open questions, and collaborate ethically. The platform provides structured research workspaces, FOIA request tracking, AI-powered analysis tools, and a full audit trail.
What this platform is not.
NotYetSolved is not a private investigation service, detective service, law-enforcement partner, legal service, or paid case-work platform. Members are volunteers. No member may accept payment, compensation, gifts, tips, rewards, or anything of value for research activity connected to NotYetSolved. Members do not contact living individuals connected to cases.
Custom cases.
Beyond the seeded public case archive, members can add any unresolved case that is a matter of public record — local cold cases, regional unsolved homicides, missing persons with public documentation, unidentified persons, suspicious deaths, and other public-interest matters. Cases must be matters of public record and cannot target living private individuals as subjects without a documented public interest basis.
Volunteer research groups.
Members can invite others to their organization and collaborate on shared case files. Research notes, tasks, public-source files, FOIA requests, and AI analysis are shared across the group. Group admins manage membership and roles. You can work alone or form a volunteer research group — the platform supports both.
Rules of Engagement
These rules are non-negotiable. Violations result in immediate account termination.
Permitted
- Conduct open-source research using publicly available information
- Review public records, court documents, and news archives
- Organize public-source files, timelines, and case documentation
- Submit FOIA requests to government agencies
- Submit public information and research notes
- Provide information to law enforcement through proper channels
Not Permitted — Ever
- Accept payment, gifts, rewards, or anything of value for research activity
- Impersonate law enforcement, government officials, or representatives of NotYetSolved
- Contact witnesses, suspects, victims' families, or private individuals about a case
- Publish accusations against private individuals
- Conduct surveillance, pretexting, trespassing, or unauthorized database searches
- Interfere with active law-enforcement cases, court cases, or law-enforcement activity
NotYetSolved is a volunteer public-research and case-awareness platform. It does not provide private investigation services, legal services, law-enforcement services, emergency services, or paid case work. Users may organize public information, build timelines, review public records, preserve source links, and discuss unresolved public-interest cases. Users may not accept payment or anything of value for research activity connected to NotYetSolved.
Platform
Built on the Statecraft Examiners research platform
NotYetSolved.com runs on the Statecraft Examiners research platform. Volunteer researcher accounts access a purpose-built view with tools appropriate for open-source public research — not licensed or paid case work.
Join as a Volunteer Researcher