There are few things in this world more frustrating than an unsolved crime, particularly a murder.

Getting a criminal off the street, giving loved ones closure, seeing that justice is done — these all are compelling reasons for solving a crime.

One of the most notable “cold case files” in the area is the murder of 24-year-old Erin Rebecca Taylor, whose body was discovered 18 years ago in a secluded area off of Marquette County Road 492 in Negaunee Township.

Eighteen years. That’s a whole generation.

However, that doesn’t mean the case is closed.

In a Monday Mining Journal article by Cecilia Brown, Marquette City Police Captain of Detectives Mike Kohler confirmed the Taylor case still is very much open, and close attention is being paid to it.

An autopsy confirmed Taylor, who had been missing for nine days, had been murdered, with investigators believing she was strangled in her Wright Street home.

Even though a person of interest was determined, there wasn’t enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that person was responsible.

The determination, though, was made after investigators interviewed many people.

So, it’s hard to believe that someone somewhere doesn’t have knowledge of the crime. According to local police, information still is being brought forward about the Taylor case.

It can be just a single tip that helps get the case solved.

Forsyth Township Chief of Police Gordon Warchock, who was a detective sergeant with the city of Marquette Police Department at the time of the murder, told The Mining Journal that any piece of information, even if it’s assumed to be insignificant, can be important to the case.

In fact, he said that tip could be the “missing piece of the puzzle.”

Solving an 18-year-old murder is, to say the least, a challenging puzzle. Evidence can be lost, and witnesses — even the perpetrator — might no longer be alive.

However, for a victim’s family, solving the case can bring much-needed closure.

As a close friend of Taylor, Bonnie Dowd, said in the Monday Mining Journal article, Taylor no longer has a voice.

“And we need to get justice for her,” Dowd said.

To help get that justice, anyone with information on the Taylor case is urged to contact Marquette City Police at 906-228-0400 or email JusticeForErinTaylor@gmail.com.