Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
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Overview on Templates


These instructions have been developed to instruct new users and visitors here on how to add new cases or to update cases with new data. Wikia Code is actually very easy and quick to learn, and several recurring contributors are available to correct and fix issues. Unlike several Wikia sites here on Fandom, we are very interested in new contributors adding new research and new cases. The easiest way to get started is by clicking the EDIT button and correcting grammar or syntax. Once one picks up on how the HTML code, it is very easy to understand how the pages are created or by simply click/paste cases from the Edit page (without deleting the page entirely) and posting it to WordPad to edit into a new cases. This site uses several different templates for different types of cases, each of which are described below. I recommend using the already established templates (altering and renaming it to the new case) to create cases. I have just three rules/recommendations: 1) Don't add or delete to or from the templates, 2) Don't add personal comments to the case bio. (There is a Talk Page for that) and 3) Don't add Updates to other parts of the page. These pages describe the original Unsolved Cases. If an unidentified person's identity is revealed, it goes under STATUS, not under the Case File name. The various templates are nearly identical with obvious variations, but here's a general overview on how the standard template works, erasing the instructions in <...> :

Real Name: <full name of the character(s) here>
Nicknames: <known nicknames or aliases>
Location: <US State, Canadian province, country or area the case occurs, no abbreviations preferred>
Date: <date or dates of the cases>

Details: <main body of text except for the following>
Suspects: <in this case, suspects in the case or theories thereof>
Extra Notes: <any and all notes not directly tied to the case: date of episode, behind the scenes facts, other series the case has appeared on - check out this case for Amy Bradley>
Results: <Unsolved/Solved/Unresolved/Wanted/Captured with accompanying facts>
Links: <any possible exterior case links or news sites used to create the case file>

(NOTE: In the Legends template, Description is for a description of the setting or location, not the case itself.)

Please be aware that for cross-referencing purposes, all cases are provided with category links (preferably in this sequence) by:

Year
State or Country or Region
Case Themes (themes prevalent through several episodes in the series)
Case Status

Category links are meant to be used in the linking of cases, not the results. Do not use category links relating to the updates. Furthermore, in addition to cases being Solved, Unsolved, Wanted or Captured, this site uses the category Unresolved for cases where certain circumstances and case perimeters have to yet be answered; such as cases where fugitives have taken their lives before brought to justice or where family members of their lost loved ones are still missing some form of closure.

I have since began using two more templates on this website to use as reference pages for Investigators and Series connected to cases seen on Unsolved Mysteries.

Naming Convention


Case Names: Be sure you have a decent name for the case that isn't too vague (rejected: "Case of the Missing Heir" better: "Heirs of Katherine Bennett") and therefore can't be confused with another case. In other words, use a name that definitely identifies the case. When in doubt, peruse the case file lists for what name is already being used. A few examples:

Brayman Road Attacker
Shannon Davis
Michael Scott Martin
Tami Leppert
The Signal Mountain Murders

Note this site uses the simplest most basic name for the cases described here. It is also acceptable to describe the same case under different categories. The Shannon Davis case can be listed under Unsolved Murders as Shannon Davis or under Most Wanted as David Davis as long as they are cross-linked. Profiling cases separately like this can be useful in detailing cases as best as possible without crowding too much information for one case on one page; for example, several Appeal Cases have the Unsolved Crimes have been described separately. When the spelling of a character name is in doubt, this can be mentioned under Extra Notes in the case description or included as variant names under Other Aliases, as in Mafuz Huck. (Due to time in trying to get this site more user-friendly, I'll still be adapting as things go on.) If you think a case can be better identified by another title, you can contact me and we can discuss it. Bear in mine, several cases have been grouped and linked together under one name even though they are listed separately. See Obia-Man.

Case Themes: Be sure to include as many links to cross-reference and identify cases as possible for visitors to the site to identify cases they might only have a few details on. For example: the The Signal Mountain Murders includes:

Category: Tennessee
Category: 1990
Category: Solved
Category: ATV-Related cases

Eventually this site will have categories to cross-reference cases with common states, years, vehicles and objects as well as by status (Solved, Unsolved, Unresolved, Wanted, Captured, et al) Hopefully with your help we can put together a site that will list every segment from the series and cross-reference for easy identification.

If you do not have immediate full details for a detailed case file here, please provide as much as you are aware of that someone else can recognize the case and add to it. If you are the type easiliy offended by others editing your work, this is not the site for you.

Watch your grammar and spelling and do not include any profanity. There is no excuse for this.

Case Placement


For clarity and aesthetic purposes, I have summarized the cases in the series into the following categories:

Most Wanted - This page lists all the fugitives and people wanted for questioning for crimes they were connected to.
Unsolved Murders - This page lists all the unsolved deaths and murders lacking identification of the killers.
Lost Loved Ones - This page lists missing persons, lost loved ones and friends lost from the lives of others.
Unsolved Mysteries - This page is for all the cases that don't fit in the first three: lost identity cases, harassment cases, criminal mysteries...
Legends - This page is for all the Ghosts, UFO stories, Buried Treasure and Historical Cases featured in the series. (Athough, two murder cases with paranormal connections and one disappearance with UFO overtures have been included.) Some cases involving unusual phenomenon have been placed under Unsolved Mysteries for the purposes of aesthetics.
Suggestions - Read Other Case Files below

During the series, there were cases identified as "Sci/Med" or "The Investigators." Since even those segments featured unsolved cases, I have placed them under the previous four categories. For example, the Jack Davis Jr. from the profile on Dr. Cyril Wecht is under the Unsolved Murders category with an accompanying note on the case file. Wecht has since recieved his own bio under a new category Investigators, reserved for specialists and psychics profiled in the course of the series.

However, several cases I have cross referenced under more than one category for convenience state. The theft of the Stahl Paintings, for example, has been featured under Lost Loved Ones since it is the disappearance of a physical object, under Unsolved Mysteries since the case was so unique for category placement and under Most Wanted since the thieves that perpetrated the theft still remain uncaught.

Episodes

I have gone to great effort to create and list Unsolved Mysteries by episode describing only new cases, thereby deleting repeats. This system allows me to not only identify the earliest possible airdate for each case but to separate old cases from new cases from the syndicated format of the series. For those of you who wish to know which cases are new and which are being repeated, I suggest including the category links, Lifetime TV Case or Spike TV Case.

Pictures and Photos


For those who wish to provide images and photos, do not stick them in the portion of the text as this affects the layout of the pages and causes gaps and spaces to occur. Please do not place them between the text and HTML codes which you can edit much easier on the Source page which allows for much easier control of the page appearance.
Also, please limit number of images to one or two as per the case profile requires. With more and more people getting involved with the site, it is becoming impossible for me to peruse and proof-read every new page to edit every new page being added.
If you have questions, contact me on my TALK page.

Note: Cosgrove-Meuer Productions, The NBC Network, Lifetime-TV or Spike-TV recently reviving the series does not recognize this site. Please describe cases in your own words only; do not repeat copied material from the Unsolved Mysteries website or any other website.

Unidentified Episodes

At the start of this website, there were several cases which could not be matched to any episodes. While many of those cases have since been identified or discovered to be on separate crime documentaries, I have kept the page up for visitors to leave queries on locating cases attributed to "Unsolved Mysteries." If you wish to identify a case or learn where a case is on this webpage, please leave a message here.

Other Case Files

Over time of creating this site, I have included a few cases not listed in the original Unsolved Mysteries case files, which: 1) have been connected to other cases on the series, such as the Natalee Holloway case to the Amy Bradley disappearance, or 2) have been erroneously credited as appearing on Unsolved Mysteries, but can't be confirmed, such as the Kerri Culberson case. (In these cases, resources have merely confused with other crime documentaries with Unsolved Mysteries.) I have since decided this site can be expanded to include bios for other unsolved crimes and cases that have for some reason not been solved or just haven't had much exposure. Since there is a finite number of cases even for the series for this site, I've created a separate page for such cases as Suggested Unsolved Mysteries Cases under Suggestions to attract more unsolved crime enthusiasts and fans of the show interested in the site. In order to add such a case, please write the case in the already established format style of the case files already on the site, substituting the site or reference of the material under Notes for the episode date, and don't forget to use the proper tags (those cross referencing tools at the bottom linking cases). The suggested order is by Location, Case Type, Case Theme(s) and Status. If you don't know how to create the links and tabs, send me a message and I'll help you through it.

Policies

My general policy on this website is that all users and editors treat each other with the same kind of respect and decorum one wants to receive. That means:

  • No hate-filled language or name calling in the Talk or Forum Pages
  • No personalized messages in the pages.
  • No nonsensical deleting vast areas of text from the pages
  • No gibberish or profanity added to the pages
  • No editing of the tags on the pages or inserting bizarre irrelevant tags
  • No vandalizing or defacing of the phrasing, HTML code or set template on the pages
  • All cases featured on this site (even non-UM cases) are to be formatted to site specifications; if this request is not followed, the page and everything on it will be deleted.


Anyone caught being derogative or vandalizing this Wiki will be blocked as I see fit from editing or posting on this site as I see fit.

For any other questions, please contact me on my Talk Page.

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