The Police Blotter

Two interesting crime stories rise to the surface this morning.

The first involves the unusual death of a Census worker a month ago:

Investigators probing the death of a Kentucky census worker found hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest increasingly doubt he was killed because of his government job and are pursuing the possibility he committed suicide, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

His family still strongly believes he was murdered. The deceased's truck was found not far from his body, which raises questions: "If somebody else was there, how did they get away? Did they walk? Why walk when there was a truck there?"

The other story is of the terrible mass-murder in Cleveland. Local folks say the police didn't look into the disappearances of the women because they were poor and black.

Well, OK, you may have a point there.

But the families with missing relatives are reluctant to step forward. Why?

Police say there's only one way for the families of missing women to know for sure if their loved ones are among the victims found in suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell's house: Give DNA samples. But relatives with checkered pasts in the hardscrabble neighborhood seem reluctant to come forward.

People, please! You can't have it both ways. If you want the cops to look for your missing daughter, you have to cooperate. And you can start by at least telling them she's missing.