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Unsolved homicides pile up for Cleveland Police detectives

5 years of wondering ended Friday for the family of Minerva Tripp. It's another in a huge amount of homicide cases for Cleveland Police.

It's been 5 years of wondering for Minerva Tripp's family.

5 years where, for them, she lived only on the Cleveland Police missing person's page.

On Friday, remains found in Lorain County in October were confirmed to be those of Minerva Tripp, who would have been 47 years old.

Tripp's older sister, Marcellette Love, told CNN in July of 2013, almost a year after she had been missing, "For months I would dream of her, seeing her in the mud, in trash bags soaked in the rain. I just want her back. I just want to see her."

Frustrated with police back then, she told CNN "On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give them a zero. They have not followed leads and have not done nearly enough."

"We are with you," is Cleveland Police Union President, Steve Loomis' response to families waiting for closure.

Loomis said Friday that detectives empathize with families like Tripp's and feel their frustration.

While the family buries Minerva's remains, Cleveland Police have yet another homicide case in a pile they dig through daily.

"You know, add it to the list. I have 12 homicide detectives working 250 homicide cases in just the last 2 years, " Loomis says. "To put that into perspective, Columbus had 99 homicides last year and they have 55 homicide detectives. It's insane."

Loomis believes there should be at least 25 to 30 homicide detectives.

"These homicides don't stop in this city, so everybody gets pushed down the priority scale and that is tragic when you are talking about the most heinous crimes known to man," says Loomis.

Gone are the days, he says, when more cases were solved.

"The homicide unit had the strike force units, community policing units, there were a lot of assets out there that they could rely on to bring them information and bring suspects and witnesses in. They aren't there now," Loomis says and adds, he believes it's a crime in and of itself.

"They are swimming in quicksand. It is an absolute dereliction of duty on the part of the administration," says Loomis.

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