Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries reboot has a lot to live up to, as the original series actually helped solve quite a few challenging cases. Originally running from 1987 to 2002, Unsolved Mysteries was one of those iconic shows just about anyone who was around when it aired tends to remember. From its eerie theme song to the often creepy narration by host Robert Stack, Unsolved Mysteries was a cultural touchstone, as is readily evidenced by how long it stayed on the air.
Now, Netflix and Unsolved Mysteries' creators are back with a reboot, sans host and reenactments, and with a more documentary feel. Some fans of the original show aren't big on the new format, but one can't deny that the franchise is back, as viewership has been high, with many already poised for the arrival of season 1, part 2. Plus, no host they could've found would've been able to emerge from Stack's considerable shadow, so it's probably better they opted to change things up. At least the theme song is still awesome.
Judging by the heavy response to the cases explored in the reboot so far, it's likely only a matter of time until viewer tips lead to breaks for investigators. This would continue a proud Unsolved Mysteries tradition, in which the program's audience actually helps solve the titular mysteries. Here's how many cases the old show closed.
Over the course of its 15 year original run, Unsolved Mysteries covered over 1300 cases in its 230 produced episodes. While an exact count of mysteries solved by viewers doesn't appear to be available, we do know that more than 260 of those 1300 have been solved, meaning more than a whopping 30% of cases were solved via viewer tips. That's a terrific success rate. The process for doing so was quite simple. Unsolved Mysteries would feature a phone number viewers could call with any information they might have, which connected them to a call center full of real people. Tip found to be credible would then be investigated, and passed along to the relevant authorities.
All in all, half the cases involving wanted fugitives were solved, and more than 100 missing persons were reunited with their loved ones. Seven wrongly convicted criminals have also been exonerated. That's a lot of good done by Unsolved Mysteries. One infamous example involved a pair of arsonists who left behind a chilling video recording of a house burning down. After over 1000 viewer tips came in, the perpetrators were caught.
In another instance, a 16-year-old girl named Missy Munday ran off with a 26-year-old man named Jerry Strickland, with the man later murdering another man named Elmer DeBoer. Amusingly, the pair were Unsolved Mysteries viewers, and weren't surprised to be caught after the episode aired. Weirder still was the case of human remains found in a locked trunk, initially thought to be of a possible murder victim from 1908, but which turned out to be what was left of Joseph Mulvaney, who disappeared in 1963.
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