NATCHEZ &045; The folks on TV make it look a lot easier than it is.

In the real world solving a case that’s gone cold takes more than a commercial filled hour.

So more than a year ago when Adams County Sheriff Ronny Brown took office he started rifling through old files and talking to investigators about the county’s unsolved murders.

The end result was two county murders and one city murder that the county agreed to take on.

&uot;It’s something we’ve involved everyone up here with,&uot; Brown said.

&uot;We’ve talked to the old deputies and done a lot of work on them.&uot;

The main cold case team is headed up by Maj. Jody Waldrop and one other investigator.

None of the cases was ever actually closed, but no arrests were made and killers remain at large, Brown said.

&uot;If it was my daughter or son I would want someone pursuing it,&uot; he said. &uot;Their families don’t want us to forget them.&uot;

Since January 2004 investigators have traced and retraced evidence in the deaths of Norman Long, Rena Davis and Elizabeth Louise Donald. In some cases they’ve found new leads and interviewed new individuals, but the investigation always starts in the file room.

&uot;When you look at most of these things, the answer might be in it,&uot; Brown said. &uot;We can see the light at the end of the tunnel on one case right now.&uot;

After investigators have reviewed the entire case they visit the crime scene, identify any people that were suspects immediately after the crime and canvass the neighborhood where the murder happened, Waldrop said. They look at any evidence previously collected and make sure there aren’t any scientific tests that weren’t done or that weren’t available at the time of the death.

Long was found beaten to death on Fife Street in 2002, Donald was found shot to death off Carthage Point Road on Christmas Day 1994 and Davis was found beaten to death in April 1994.

Since the cold case team started work, Marshall Mark Brown was found murdered in his RV on U.S. 61 North in March of this year. No arrest has been made in that case, and Waldrop said investigations continue.

Waldrop and Brown said all of the cases have circumstances that make them hard to solve. In most cases the victims were loners who didn’t regularly check in with family or friends.

Still, Waldrop said he’s determined to solve the cases and make an arrest.

&uot;No. 1, there’s someone out there among us that is a murderer,&uot; he said. &uot;And second, there’s always a family member who has suffered a great loss and who will never get complete closure as long as they know the killer is loose.&uot;

A big part of solving a case is getting tips and cooperation from the public, Brown said. Anyone with any information that may assist in any of the investigations is urged to call the sheriff’s office at 601-442-2752 or Crime Stoppers at 601-442-5000.