El Dorado County D.A. tries to solve cold cases via social media

Brynn Rainey was a Keno runner at the Sahara Tahoe in 1977 when her body was found on property near the old Stateline Stables where the Van Sickle Bi-State Park now resides. She lived at what was known as the Cookbook apartments, frequented the 7-11 store on Emerald Bay Road, took the bus to work and, on the last night she was seen alive, visited the Bitter Creek Saloon near the corner of Sandy Way and Takela Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

This cold case is one of over 60 that El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson has assigned to a special task force to try and solve the large number of cases which are more than double of other similar counties.

Members of the task force include detectives from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department and El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, two Deputy District Attorneys and a Department of Justice criminal analyst.

One way the office is trying to solicit tips from the public is their series of videos highlighting each of the cases and releasing them monthly on their Facebook page. 48 Hours' Crimesider will be highlighting the videos and reporting on the cases.

On August 14, their Facebook page showed the latest webinar, focused on the 1986 murder of a 76-year-old Halley Wing who was a resident of Rescue, CA. Wing was gunned down in the driveway of his son's ranch which was adjacent to the elder Wing's property. He had gone to investigate a suspicious car who had driven up to the home.

Cold case homicides present a lot of unique and difficult circumstances when investigating them after 30 years, such as in this case," said Dave Stevenson, an investigator with the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office. "It's our hope that contacting, reaching out and getting the word out to the public throughout the U.S. may bring information forward that could help us solve this cold case homicide."