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In another example of government authorities utilizing social media as a new way of reaching out to the public, Ohio State University police have posted a request for tips regarding a fatal house fire on Facebook. In the post titled “OSU Fires — Looking for Answers,” the police write:

“Do you remember this??? We are desperately looking for any information on this OSU fire that killed 5 students. It has been 6 years and we still have no answers. Anything you can remember may help. Feel free to post here, e-mail us or call Crimestoppers with an anonymous tip (1-877-645-8477). There is still $12,000 in reward money available!! We haven’t forgotten and we hope you haven’t either, please help.”

The Natural Hazards Center Twitter feed, where I saw this story, points out that this is an instance of the police using social media to solve a ‘pre-social media’ crime.