March 2, 2010

The Virginia State Police now have a new platform to reach many more people -- 400 million, to be exact.

VSP is now on Facebook. Officials created a fan page so they can use the social networking site to spread and gather important information. As of Tuesday afternoon, they already have more than 900 fans.

Sgt. Gregory Miller of the Virginia State Police said they will have multiple uses for the fan page. They plan to use it to get out information on particular crimes -- both old and new. He says it's also a useful tool to track down a criminal or locate a missing person.

Miller said Facebook will give users instant access to information, and there's always a possibility someone could see a press release or picture and know something more.

"We've got some older cases that we're still working on and we haven't forgotten about," Miller said. "It's possible that by posting them on Facebook, on our page, that somebody might see it and say, 'I have that information.'"

The first case the Virginia State Police is featuring on its fan page is the abduction of Alicia Showalter Reynolds in Culpeper. She was abducted 14 years ago Tuesday. Her body was found two months later, but VSP never identified a suspect.

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The Virginia State Police is hoping people who become fans of its new page on Facebook will help the agency solve crimes and find missing people and fugitives.

The agency launched its page on the social-networking Web site Monday.

Superintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty said Tuesday that incorporating social media into communications and outreach efforts is a natural progression for the agency.

In addition to news releases and traffic safety tips, the Facebook page provides information about unsolved cases. The 1996 abduction and murder of 25-year-old Alicia Showalter Reynolds in Culpeper County is the first unsolved case to be featured.