State trooper who helped solve case after 20 years opens up about investigation

PITTSBURGH — For many law enforcement officers, there are a few cases that stick with them. For Trooper Jeff Brock, it was a call that came in September of 1999.

"I was at the Somerset barracks when we got the call that a girl had been kidnapped," Brock told Target 11's Rick Earle.

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A 10-year-old girl was snatched from Cairnbrook, she was sexually assaulted and then released hours later. The victim gave police a description of the car, her attacker, and the shirt he was wearing. They also had one other piece of evidence, a bag with DNA and a partial fingerprint.

That print would later be the key piece of evidence. Trooper Brock told Target 11 how they found that evidence at all.

"Unbelievably, our girl was able to backtrack him," he started. "I looked it up and it was 4.2 miles, she backtracked him 4.2 miles to the exact spot."

In 2004, police linked the DNA to two unsolved rapes in Hagerstown, Maryland, but the case stalled. Then late last year, an FBI agent decided to check on that partial print. It hadn't been run since 1999.

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"She says we have a match on those prints," Brock said. "I was just, it blew me away."

Target 11 traveled to the FBI's Biometrics Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia to see first-hand how a new algorithm uses partial prints to confirm identities. In the past, it would require a full set of prints.

"It really has revolutionized identifying investigative services for the law enforcement community," said Greg Scarbro, the FBI Biometrics Services Chief.

The hit on that partial print led police to Timothy David Nelson of Cumberland, Maryland. Trooper Brock delivered the news to the victim in person.

"He's not going to hurt anybody else," Trooper Brock said about the suspect. "He is locked down. That has to take a weight off their shoulders, and I certainly hope that it did."

Cox Media Group