The mystery of where these feet are coming from remains unsolved. Some speculate that they come from people who died in an ocean plane crash; the feet are gradually breaking free from the bodies as they decompose, and the shoes are buoyant enough to carry them to the surface. So far, forensic examiners have not found any signs that the feet were cut or pried loose, leaving decomposition as the most likely explanation.

No plane has been reported missing in the area, however.

Earlier this year, a bogus foot was discovered. Someone had shoved a rotting animal paw into a shoe and left it to be found.

To learn more, check out the CNN story at www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/12/canada.feet.mystery/index.html.

I talked to one of the victims yesterday. Elaine Koenig says the sketch looks all wrong.

“It looks like a stocky 40-year-old,” she said, “not a skinny 18-year-old.”

I’m not trying to be critical of the sketch artist, who’s done a great job for a number of years. I just thought Koenig’s comments might help identify the attacker.

If you recognize this guy, please call Oklahoma City Crime Stoppers at (405) 235-7300.

Oklahoma City police Sgt. Robert Douglas, who spent five years in a coma after an on-duty traffic accident, died today. He was 44.

I wrote a notable obituary on Robert. It will be in tomorrow’s paper (Sept. 29) and should also be online at NewsOK.com.

Robert was a good cop and a good guy. He will be missed.

In the years we lived there, my wife and I saw the neighborhood change from a safe, quiet area to a dangerous, scary place. We suffered a break-in, but didn’t lose much. Now we live in a much safer neighborhood. The difference is almost palpable.

In today’s newspaper story, I recounted some of the recent crimes that have occurred in the 11000 block of N Lincoln Blvd., which probably isn’t even a quarter-mile long. Those crimes include drug dealing, home invasions, beatings and a rape, among others.

A few minutes ago, I got a call from a woman reporting yet another crime there.

About a week ago, she said, her daughter came home to find that someone had broken into the home she’d lived in for seven years. The intruder smashed her belongings, stole some items and knocked holes in the walls with a baseball bat.

The woman and her husband came in from California to move their daughter to safety. They saw another family moving out and talked to their daughter’s neighbor, who said she’s probably going to leave, too.

“I read your story and just started crying,” the woman said. “I didn’t want to read it, but I’m glad I did, because it reinforced that we did the right thing by moving our daughter out of that neighborhood.”

It’s a sad thing. I know people who still live there — good people who would never harm a soul.  

The bad guys are winning. They chased me away. They’re scaring others into leaving. And the good folks who are left behind are just becoming victims.

It’s not a cold case, although few, if any, of these crimes have been solved.

But people have been hurt, particularly the two most recent victims. One was hit with a blunt object, raped and stabbed. The other — a good Samaritan just trying to help her neighbor — was also beaten and stabbed.

This monster doesn’t deserve freedom. I hope you can help lock him away.

   Paige Dillard writes all of the scripts for the Cold Case videos. She consults with me but does much of her own research, digging through the archives for past stories, searching the Web and wading through what is sometimes hours of footage to find the best clips to include in the documentary-style videos. Sometimes we go to interviews together and take turns asking questions. Her job is behind-the-scenes and pretty thankless, but she’s a talented asset, and she has to work faster than me: Her deadlines are often much earlier than mine.

 If you watch many videos at NewsOK.tv, you’ve probably seen Tanner Herriott on-camera. (My favorite is the one where he basically gets beaten up by a self-defense instructor: http://www.newsok.tv/?titleID=1483902033.) For Cold Case, he works behind the camera as a skilled videographer. He has shot the video for every Cold Case I’ve worked on, and I couldn’t be happier with the job he’s done. Tanner works from Paige’s scripts to cobble the final videos together and add in the visual effects. If you think the videos look good, it’s because of him.

 Everyone knows Dave Morris. I don’t think you can watch television in Oklahoma City for more than 30 minutes without seeing him in a NewsOK commercial. Dave’s a much better looking guy than I am, and he’s far more comfortable on camera, so he’s the face of Cold Case Oklahoma — and thank God for it. Dave hosts and narrates the videos. I think he does a great job.

Four times a year, members of various law enforcement agencies gather at the Oklahoma City police training center to talk about cold cases.

The meetings, which are closed to the public, allow investigators to pool information on cases they’re working and seek advice from their colleagues. A case featured at one of the meetings was the Comanche slaying of Mary Pewitt. That case was profiled on the Cold Case OK Web site earlier this year.

I’ve been invited to two of the meetings but only made it to one. The sessions pretty much last all day, but I was there for just an hour or two.

It’s pretty fascinating. Police detectives, OSBI agents, sheriff’s deputies and others all gathered in one classroom talking about the cases that haunt even the most hardened law enforcement professionals, the cases that have crawled under their skin, the cases they just can’t forget. It’s a compelling reminder that cops care.

Their next meeting isn’t for a few months. Hopefully, some of those cases will be closed by then.

I don’t think I’m violating any confidences to say that a suspect has been identified, and there seems to be substantial evidence tying this person to the crime.

Sorry to be so vague. I just don’t want to endanger the investigation.

Keep watching. I’ll update as soon as I can.

It’s finally here.

Starting Sunday, check out the new, improved Cold Case Oklahoma Web site at www.coldcaseok.com. (Note the new URL; it’s coldcaseok now, not coldcaseokc.)

The site combines all the content of the old site with a new look that’s easier to navigate. Watch the Cold Case videos on a much larger screen, and talk back on the Cold Case blog. Be sure to add the new site to your Favorites list.

We’re still working out some bugs — quite a few of them, actually. Please let us know of any problems you encounter with the site so we can get them fixed.

The site debuts Sunday with the story of Pamela Dawn Tinsley, 19, who vanished from Lake Overholser on April 13, 1986. Tinsley hasn’t been seen since, but armed with new evidence from a mystery caller, police think they may soon be able to find her body — and her killers.

Think you can help? Be sure to contact the Oklahoma City police cold case unit at 297-1127 or Crime Stoppers at 235-7300. Send tips to coldcase@oklahoman.com.

But we’re also working on redesigning the Cold Case site, and we’d love to hear your ideas. What’s missing? What do you want more of? How can we make it better for you?

Post comments here or e-mail to coldcase@oklahoman.com.

Thanks!