(NECN: Jack Thurston, Waterbury, Vt.) - "Not a day goes by that I don't think of her," sighed Lisa England, as she flipped through a scrapbook of newspaper articles covering her friend's disappearance.
England and her husband, Steve, have worried for nearly two decades about Audrey Groat.
"We'll never forget," Lisa England said.
Groat, a mother, vanished from the central Vermont community of Northfield in 1993. Vermont State Police believe she was murdered, but her body has never been found; her killer never brought to justice.
The Englands now closely watch news coverage of other major crimes, including last week's stunning murder in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. Investigators arrested a married couple for allegedly luring and killing a beloved St. Johnsbury Academy physics teacher, 33-year-old Melissa Jenkins. In court, Allen and Patricia Prue denied strangling and beating Jenkins to death.
Jenkins' family praised search crews and detectives.
"The professionalism and quick response of these individuals is greatly appreciated," cousin Eric Berry told reporters Friday.
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"That's one of the things that struck me was the speed with which they got this resolved," Steve England said, applauding the police work in the Jenkins case. "It didn't happen that [quickly] with Audrey."
The Audrey Groat disappearance is one of at least 70 cases in Vermont of missing people or homicides that still haven't been solved, going back to the 1940s, State Police said. "Don't give up hope," said Maj. Ed Ledo, the head of the Vermont State Police major crimes unit.
Ledo said all the unsolved crimes are assigned to his detectives. He expects each gets regular attention, even if only for a few hours a month between work on more active, fresher cases.
"We don't let up," Ledo promised. "We'll dog a case as long as we physically and mentally can."
That tenacity paid off in 2008, when new evidence helped convict Howard Godfrey for the rape and murder of Patty Scoville in Stowe 17 years earlier.
"It's very satisfying when you get to solve an old case," Ledo said.
Vermont State Police have brand-new tools at their disposal: subscriptions to a system that lets people submit anonymous tips through a website or text message. The partnership with CrimeReports and TipSoft gives Vermonters the ability to send the tips to law enforcement via text message, iPhone and Android, as well as an online web form, State Police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro explained.
Ledo noted that while anonymous tips can be extremely helpful, most detectives would prefer the opportunity to speak with someone who has information, if possible.
The new tip system was used for the first time in the Jenkins investigation last week. But in that case, a police affidavit filed in court suggests a phone call from Melissa Jenkins to a friend, letting him know where she was going before her disappearance, may have been the most critical piece of evidence that led detectives to their suspects.
Lisa and Steve England now hope the software could bring an end to the wondering for Audrey Groat's friends and family, if someone comes forward with an old memory. "They may think it's a small thing, not a big deal, but yeah, it could be," Lisa England insisted.
Cell phone users can text message their tip to "CRIMES," the word formed by the phone numbers 274637. Tipsters should be sure to use the keyword "VTIPS" in their message, Dasaro explained, to make sure the system recognizes the information as pertaining to a Vermont crime.
People with information on Vermont crimes can also use an online form to submit their tips.
