Amy Jenkinson

Amy Jenkinson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Georgia. In 2011, she joined the Knox County Sheriff's Office Forensics Unit and became a full-time Crime Analyst shortly thereafter. She became the NamUs Victim's Advocate Representative for the State of Tennessee and was chosen to attend the NamUs Training Academy in November 2011. This allowed Ms. Jenkinson to train other Tennessee agencies on the importance and use of NamUs. The following year, Ms. Jenkinson was reassigned to the Major Crimes/Cold Case Unit of the Knox County Sheriff's Office, where she continued to focus on missing and unidentified person cases. She was later promoted to the position of Cold Case Investigator. Ms. Jenkinson also served as the ViCAP Liaison for the Knox County Sheriff's Office and managed their budget for private laboratory forensic testing. Ms. Jenkinson received Detective of the Month for her work on a 1981 homicide involving an unidentified victim whose skeletal remains were found in a wooded lot. Her investigation led to the identification of the decedent after 32 years as a cold case with no leads. Ms. Jenkinson identified two additional long-term unidentified decedents and resolved eight long-term missing person cases dating back to the mid-1980s and early 1990s. She received local, state and national media coverage of her cases, including Unsolved Mysteries documenting one as the "featured case of the week". Ms. Jenkinson joined the NamUs team in February 2015 as a Regional Program Specialist (RPS), where she works with law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, family members, and public users across seven states. As an RPS, Ms. Jenkinson reconciles NamUs entries with agency reports, provides investigative support, and secures biometric information for forensic analysis. Ms. Jenkinson currently serves as a member of the NIJ Cold Case Working Group, where she is assisting with the creation of a new policy and procedure manual to support the establishment and maintenance of cold case units within agencies, and detail the resources available for cold case investigations.