SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Utah) – A $100,000 reward is now being offered to help solve the murder of Rosie Tapia.
The 6-year old was taken from her bedroom in 1995 and the next day she was found floating along a canal that borders the apartment complex in Salt Lake City.
Rosie’s murder remains unsolved and has turned into a cold case.
“Maybe $100,000 is enough to incentivize someone to break silence (and) tell us what happened,” said Jason Jensen, the family’s private investigator. “(Someone can call) even anonymously and tell us what happened.”
Saturday marks the 27th anniversary of her murder. It is one of the longest running unsolved crimes in Utah.
“It gets harder every year because I’ve been seeing a lot of these cold cases getting solved and they are a lot more years than Rosie’s,” said Lewine Tapia, Rosie’s mother.
Previous attempts to solve the crime have failed to produce a suspect. Composites of suspects have been released to the public with no results. In 2008, Salt Lake City police offered a $30,000 reward for information about Rosie’s murder. It wasn’t enough for someone to come forward.
The family’s private investigator claimed Rosie’s murder was tied to gangs. At the time, Rosie’s older sister was part of a local gang.
“We are believing that because (sister) was part of a gang, a rival gang had it out for her and somebody targeted her,” said Jensen. “But because it was no longer (sister’s) bedroom, they snatched her sister instead. It’s likely there is more than a killer that knows about this.”
Rosie’s mother hopes the $100,000 reward added to the police reward of $30,000 will be enough for someout to step out of the shadows.
“If they need that money, come forward and give the correct information that we’re waiting for,” said Tapia. “That would help us a lot.”
Saturday, Rosie’s mothers and others will gather at the canal to mark the occasion.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact Jensen and the Cold Case Coalition.
