Investigator of the Year Awards

The Cold Case Coalition is delighted to announce its 2024 Cold Case Investigator of the Year, Michael W. Streed, the “SketchCop”. We selected Michael not just because of his longstanding drive to identify human remains and locate missing children and persons of interest, but also because of his efforts to enable law enforcement agencies worldwide to perform forensic imagery. 

Michael Streed resides in Southern California and is the foremost forensic imagery expert in the United States. We first interacted with Michael in 2019, when he agreed to assist with the unsolved murder of Rosie Tapia (Salt Lake City, 1995).  An eyewitness had come forward who had previously been reluctant to speak with police.  We knew that Michael had assisted with identifying serial killers, rapists, and other violent predators, and were pleased when he agreed to help.  Michael was compassionate and respectful with the witness, producing a likeness of a potential suspect in Rosie’s death.

Michael’s 45+ years of law enforcement include serving as the Baltimore Police Department’s sketch artist and assisting the Los Angeles Police Department. We have continued to follow Michael’s career as he works with organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and teaches his methods to agencies across the globe. We have seen Michael produce cutting edge age progression, forensic facial reconstruction, skull-to-face overlay, and one-to-one facial comparisons (including another case in which a Coalition Board member was involved).

While his past contributions alone would earn this award, we are especially impressed by one of Michael’s current campaigns. Michael has created low-cost software that will enable law enforcement agencies of all sizes to create forensic likenesses. Many agencies do not have the resources for a trained forensic artist, and we believe that Michael’s SketchCop software will be a useful tool for locating missing persons, and identifying persons of interest across the country.

Det. Haney is the recipient of our 2022 Cold Case Investigator of the Year award for his  dedication in seeking justice in the LeRoy Ortiz case, a cold case of over 52 years. LeRoy Ortiz was a 19-year-old boxer who was shot and dumped in the Ogden River in March 1969. His killer was Richard Rios (deceased). 

From Jason Jenson, co-founder of CCC, "Detective Haney found all the pieces of the puzzle. It was really good old-fashioned police work. We want to honor those true marks of excellence, and we felt that Detective Haney displayed that mark of excellence.”