The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office has begun releasing photos of the deceased in unidentified persons cases that have gone cold—an extension of the usual practice of releasing sketches and other facial reconstructions.

It's a twist on the U.S. Justice Department's NamUs system, a database of unidentified human remains. The database, which contains more than 8,000 cases, is searchable by sex, race, body features, dental information, or other characteristics.

The Clark County, Nevada, Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner—the only other office to release actual photos of the deceased—states that since 2003, when it launched its own Web site and designated a group of investigators to handle cold cases, it has identified the remains of 30 people.

Source: CNN