Since 2020, the WMU Cold Case Program has helped Michigan State Police solve seven cold cases while giving students hands-on investigative experience that could launch careers in law enforcement.

The program was founded by Professor Ashlyn Kuersten, who said its primary goal is to support detectives by digitizing case files and creating useful documents.

"Mainly their job is to make the detectives' lives easier," Kuersten said. "They create documents, they digitize case files, whatever the detective finds would be most useful for their investigation."

Among the cases the program has helped solve is the 1987 murder of Roxanne Wood in Niles Township. Wood was assaulted, raped, and murdered, and a suspect was arrested and convicted in 2022.

The program also contributed to solving the murder of Cathy Swartz, a 19-year-old found dead in her Three Rivers apartment in 1988. A suspect was arrested 35 years later, but died by suicide in jail.

Students have also worked on active cases, such as the disappearance of Brittany Shank in 2018. Shank went missing after a car crash in Sturgis, and her whereabouts remain unknown.

"I'm really surprised, I didn't expect that we would see results like that," Kuersten said. "I just thought this would be a wonderful experience for my students."