Silvia Pettem: How One Woman Made a Difference

Dorothy Gay Howard - Murdered April 1954

Local historian Silvia Pettem is not what one might imagine when you hear the word “detective” but I contend she is a force to be reckoned with.  Were it not for her hard work and tenacity a young murdered woman may have never been identified. Her name was Dorothy Gay Howard.  She laid in an Boulder, Colorado grave yard with a headstone bearing the name “Jane Doe” and the story of Siliva’s quest to identify her is inspiring. 

What makes the sotry inspiring is that Silvia is not a police detective. She is a local historian and concerned citizen who decided to make a difference.  She used her impressive skills to track down historic information and lost files that were all but lost to time. Time can be a detective’s nemesis. Information is created by people and people have an expiration date (dark, I know). Even before death many people have a “best when used by” date as far as memory goes.

Good historians, like Silvia, are experts in finding information from non-traditional sources the police have come to reply upon. I’m not writing this post as purely praise for Silvia. But I hope that when you are considering character development you consider some non-traditional “detectives” that may be able to uncover facts and provide important perspectives to the police. Archaeologists, historians, psychologists, non-forensic scientists, etc. can have tremendous insight to certain aspects of a case.

Police are sometimes reluctant to solicit the help of “civilians”, especially in open homicide investigations.  Let’s face it, some case evidence needs to be kept close to the vest by people who are accountable to the agency. On the flip side, law enforcement can benefit greatly by enlisting the assistance of those experts who have proven themselves to be both competent and professional.  The trick is figuring out who is a valuable source and who isn’t.