SILVIA PETTEM
THE BOOK LODE, LLC
Historical Research & Writing
WELCOME
I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, then followed my mother’s advice to go somewhere “different” for college. In 1965, I moved to Boulder, Colorado. Now, more than five decades later, my roots are still in the East, but my heart – and my passion for researching and writing about history – is in the West. Colorado has remained my home. Here you will learn more about my books, articles, current projects – and about me. Thanks for visiting my website. (Visitors to www.boulderjanedoe.com are redirected here, as that site has now merged with this one.)
Stumped on a cold case? Need historical context for a research project? Looking for people or places in Boulder County, Colorado? Contact me for more information.
Silvia Pettem, © 2018
PODCASTS & BLOGS
DEFROSTING COLD CASES: Little Miss Nobody is Still Without Her Name, by Silvia PettemSeveral years ago, while working with my local sheriff’s office on the case of “Boulder Jane Doe” (a then-unidentified murder victim from 1954), my research led me to Prescott, Arizona. There, I came across the case of an unidentified little girl whose likely murdered body was found in the desert in July 1960. What struck me was that both communities shared a similar compassion and concern for their victims… read more
SHATTERED LIVES RADIO: Interviewed on May 27, 2017 by Donna R. Gore on The Long Term Missing
DEFROSTING COLD CASES, Review by Alice de Sturler, The Long Term Missing by Silvia Pettem
See BOOKS Page for ordering information
THE LONG TERM MISSING: HOPE AND HELP FOR FAMILIES (Rowman & Littlefield) empowers families and gives them hope by providing them with the tools they need to become their long-term missing person’s advocate while proactively searching for their loved ones.
THE LONG TERM MISSING — Contents
Why Finding the Missing is Important
Categories of Long-term Missing Adults
Children: Helping to Bring Them Home
Proactive Police
Civilian Searchers
Celeste’s Sister Sara: Found Alive in Mexico
NamUs: An Investigative Tool
Become Your Long-term Missing Person’s Advocate
Gather Information, Document, and Do the Research
Pitfalls and Legalities
Retrospect –– Inside a (Previously) Cold Case
Final Words
Silvia Pettem writes from the heart. Her engaging narrative is packed with real-life stories and is a must-read for family members as they journey from heartache to hope.
R. H. Walton, EdD, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice Program, Utah State University
Author of Cold Case Homicides: Practical Investigative Techniques
Knowledge is power, and in these pages you will find knowledge to empower yourselves. You will be taught how to navigate the unknown territory you have entered. You will recognize what realistically can and should be done in a case. Best of all, you will become your long-term missing person’s advocate, not only to law enforcement but to the rest of the world. And, maybe—hopefully—you will find resolution and answers.
Stuart Somershoe, Detective, Phoenix Police Department
The Long Term Missing is the first book to show how families use NamUs to bring their loved-ones home.
J. Todd Matthews, director, case management and communications, National Missing & Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
PRESS REVIEWS AND NEWS STORIES ON THE LONG TERM MISSING
One Final Chapter in (Blue Earth) Jane Doe Story, Faribault County Register, March 5, 2017
"[The Long Term Missing: Hope and Help for Families] is fascinating.... I highly recommend reading Pettem's book,” Chuck Hunt
Boulder Historian’s Book Empowers Others in Naming Missing Persons, Daily Camera, June 9, 2017
"Offering hope and help for families, the book's subtitle, explains why Pettem moves like a spider across so many delicate webs of information to get fresh perspectives, to make new connections, and encourage others to do the same,” Pam Mellskog
Boulder Historian’s Book Empowers Others in Naming Missing Persons
IowaColdCases.org, April 10, 2017
"For so many — including Iowans — it is the book thousands of families have long wished someone would write. It doesn’t provide just hope, it offers clear and insightful methods for those who want to get involved in finding out what happened to a loved one who went missing long ago.
The Long Term Missing comes complete with illustrations and describes how cold case investigations are driven by changes in technology or changes in relationships. As the founder of Iowa Cold Cases, I am both honored and humbled to have contributed to Silvia’s new book the role Iowa has played in increasing statewide public awareness about unsolved cases and getting advocates involved. Many thanks to Silvia for her comprehensive research, thought-provoking interviews, and solid guidelines for families looking for hope, help and answers,” Jody Ewing
Booklist
"Pettem advises searching parents to be a 'squeaky wheel.' She also encourages them to see if their states offer Missing Persons Day events and to attend to give DNA samples and to update reports. This guidebook should empower families to never give up hope, even as Pettem reminds readers that not everyone wants to be found."
Independence Pass John Doe Included in New Book, The Herald Democrat, May 10, 2017
Independence Pass John Doe
National Author Intrigued by Missing Woman Case, KEYC TV, Mankato MN, May 14, 2017
National Author Intrigued by Missing Woman Case
RECENT CHAPTERS & ARTICLES RE: PETTEM’S BOOKS ON COLD CASES AND MISSING PERSONS
Handbook of Missing Persons (Walton & Pettem, Chapter 16)The Business of Books, Rowman & Littlefield, "Daily Camera," December 29, 2016Lake Station brings in cameras to crack cold case, “Chicago Tribune,” October 15, 2016
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
RESEARCH SPECIALTIES:
Long-term missing persons
Unidentified remains
Cold case homicides
Boulder County, Colorado, history