Friends and family members of victims of cold cases in Colorado joined together to spend the day at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort for a "Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons" conference.

The conference was the ninth annual gathering, and provides family and friends a chance to meet face-to-face with law enforcement handling their case.

Detective Joe Matiatos with the Colorado Springs Police Department's Cold Case Homicide Unit says of the family members and friends, "they want to be contacted by the police, even if we don't necessarily have a lead or we have a break in their case, they just want some contact with us".

That holds true for Cynthia Renkel. Her sister Mary was murdered back in 1988, but she says not a day goes by that she doesn't think about her sister. Renkel is thankful for the group, both for the information it provides and the emotional bond it creates, "I'm really grateful that it exists because before it did exist, I really didn't have any support".

The group spent the day learning more about each other and their cases, before releasing balloons to remember the victims in an emotional ceremony.

If you'd like to help find out more about cold cases in our area, and perhaps make a difference in an unsolved crime, visit the link below.