Cold cases can make splashy headlines when finally solved, such as when James Calvin Gaines was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 for the murder of a 12-year-old girl in Rancho Cordova 35 years earlier.

It was the oldest case prosecuted based on DNA evidence in Sacramento County history. But cold cases require so many hours and so much personnel and money to investigate that police agencies are having trouble keeping up these days.

So it was with much anticipation that the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department – the same agency that solved the high-profile 1972 murder of 12-year-old Shannon Ritter – put a federal grant into action this month to help bring closure to the agency's most vexing, and most long-lived, mysteries.

The $392,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will be used over 18 months to revisit violent felony cases, such as murders and rapes.

The Sheriff's Department is using the money to fund three part-time detectives and a full-time investigator (the money can be used only for new positions) from the District Attorney's Office.

Previously, the department had two detectives devoted to cold-case work. But they sometimes get pulled for newer cases, so the additional resources are "pretty significant," said Sgt. Micki Links, who oversees the sheriff's homicide unit.

"You can do a lot more with six people … than two who have other duties to work," Links said. "We're taking cuts left and right from the state budget. To get some federal money for this is fantastic."

Links said her department was fortunate even to have two full-time detectives set aside for old cases. Prior to 2005, those positions didn't exist.

Sacramento police have relied on a similar grant from the Department of Justice to help fund their cold-case work. They have received two extensions since securing the grant in 2007. The money runs out in April, said department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

The grant pays for two part-time detectives to assist a full-time detective, whose position is covered by the police budget. Like the Sheriff's Department, however, that detective gets diverted when fresh cases pile up.

Even so, it's the biggest the Police Department's cold case unit has ever been, Leong said.

Links, the sheriff's homicide sergeant, said the newly reinforced cold case unit will focus mostly on homicides and rapes. They will be looking for better DNA profiles from old samples.

What is considered a "cold case" is somewhat subjective, Links said, but they are at least several years old and typically have hit dead ends.

"A lot of these cases have been investigated to the best of their ability," she said. "That's the purpose of the cold case unit – look back at those (cases). With new techniques and technology, can we come up with new (leads)?"

Detectives are hoping to get even more out of their federal grant with the help of Proposition 69, which will be fully implemented next month. The measure, passed in 2004, requires anyone arrested on suspicion of committing a felony to submit a DNA sample for a statewide database.

With more profiles set to flood the databank, cold case detectives across the state are hoping for more matches.

Help from the community, however, remains a critical element in solving cold cases. Sheriff's officials have posted information on the department's Web site – www.sacsheriff.com – about some of the county's most vexing cold cases. Anyone with potential leads is asked to call detectives at (916) 874-5070.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.