EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE: The Unsolved Case Unit

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Crime solving has come a long way over the years. Old evidence can easily become new evidence in an investigation with the help of technology and forensics. Sometimes it’s a clue that was overlooked in all the paperwork filed years ago.

There’s a group of volunteers in Brunswick County who’ve paid their dues yet they still give back to the community in hopes of finding closure. They are retired. So it’s only fair to call them Extraordinary for what they do, unpaid, for the Unsolved Case Unit.

“It really is crucial because there are a lot of cases that have not been solved,” Special Deputy Peach O’Gorman said.

“I take these cases to heart,” Special Deputy Mary Doncourt added. “They become very real to me.”

“We’re kind of unique,” Special Deputy Woodrow ‘Woody’ Clookie explained. “We can come into the office and do the work without being distracted. We collect, collate, analyze and then disseminate the information to the detectives”.

Clookie has more than 37 years of law enforcement experience, including work with the NCIS, Coast Guard, and FBI.

“Jaye(Potter Mintz) is a real person to me,” Doncourt said of her passion to help the Unsolved Case Unit, or UCU. “I want to know who hurt her and why.”

Doncourt has 45 years experience in financing in the profit and non-profit sector.

“Families that are desperate to get closure and this is what we do,” O’Gorman said. “This is what we are desperately trying to do for them.” O’Gorman has traveled the world and brings banking and computer expertise to the team. She led the way with the UCU computer database creation.

These are a few of the Special Deputies of the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Unsolved Case Unit. They are volunteers. They each bring something different to the table in keeping investigations active. Not one receives, or asks, for a paycheck.

“We finally got all the case files on computer,” Clookie said.

And that was done in large part by Special Deputy Peach O’Gorman whose expertise helped create the unsolved case database.

“I have been digitizing all cases the Captains put in front of me,” O’Gorman said. “It’s a slow process because everything needs to be catergorized. So I have to scan each paper and decide where it has to go.”

Tens of thousands of documents for the Jaye Potter Mintz file alone. Mintz’s murder dates back to 1987 and to this day remains unsolved.

But as this Unsolved Case Unit grows with technology and new eyes, so does the chance of getting closure.

“The Jane Does and John Does are fascinating and as NC State is helping us,” Doncourt said. “You suddenly have a face to someone who has just been a Jane or John Doe and that makes you want the name and what happened to them. I think we all want to know what happened to you. Who were you and why.”

An extraordinary group of Special Deputies volunteering their time to solve a crime that leaves families in a state of limbo.

“They know that somebody is actively working their cases, hopefully to get resolution,” Clookie said. It’s not always going to be a practical or possible, but at least they have the hope that someone is looking out for them and to get justice for their loved ones.”

“It’s a way for us volunteers to give back to the community,” O’Gorman added.

Keep up the Extraordinary work, my Friends.

-Daniel

Not featured in this report but on the Unsolved Case Unit:

-John Mazzamurro, 26 years of law enforcement, 5 years as a Private Investigator, and Investigator with the District Attorney’s office.

-Phillip Perry, 45+ years of law enforcement(35 as Chief of all criminal investigation for BCSO), Reserve Deputy in charge of unsolved homicide investigations.

Sidenotes: The Unit began in 2009. As of May 2015, their work hasn’t led to a case being solved, however, they say they have been able to eliminate persons of interests. They are activily working four unsolved cases as speak.

For more information on all the Volunteer Programs at the BCSO, including the Unsolved Case Unit, click HERE.