Attorney Karra Porter, a founder of the Cold Case Coalition, said Thursday that state Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, has agreed to introduce a bill during the upcoming legislative session that would establish such a database. It would be modeled on one adopted by Colorado in 2010, Porter said. Lewine and Roberta Tapia are the parents of 6-year-old Rosie Tapia,
who disappeared 23 years ago. The case remains open and continues to weigh on the family.
Lewine Tapia said she hopes the proposed legislation will pass. “It hurts. You’d think it would get easier after 23 years, but it doesn’t,” she said of Rosie, who would have turned 29 on Wednesday. “I wonder what she would look like and if she’d be married and have kids.” Porter, who represents the Tapias said they have dubbed the proposed legislation as “Rosie’s Bill.”
In the absence of a database, they have created a website, WhoKilledRosie.com, and set up a tip line, 385-258-3313, in an effort to help solve the case. More information will be about how tohelp with the Utah Cold Case Coalition will be forthcoming.