Citizens Take Crime Fighting Into Own Hands

August 6, 2007— -- A murdered father. A missing brother. Precious items stolen from one's home. These sorts of crimes are prompting ordinary citizens to fight back, and the weapon they're using is the Internet.

With police forces around the country trying to keep up with ever-growing case loads, people are taking matters into their own hands. i-CAUGHT introduces you to these individuals, and their stories.

Watch i-CAUGHT on Tuesday, August 7th. 10/9 Central.

Jon Cornbleet

Its now been 10 months since the brutal stabbing murder of popular Chicago dermatologist Dr. David Cornbleet. The beloved doctor was murdered inside his downtown office. There was no weapon left at the bloody crime scene but police and Dr. Cornbleet's son have one thing to work with; surveillance video showing the person they suspect is the killer coming and going from the building.

Dr. Cornbleet's son Jon has made it his mission to find the person who took his father so violently. He spoke to ABC News correspondent Don Dahler. Jon Cornbleet says the Chicago police have done an very good job with his father's case but added; "you know at the end of the day , if the police never solve the crime, to them it's not the end of the world. To me, I don't think I could live the rest of my life without this crime being solved."

So, armed with the video-tape of the man he believes killed his father, Cornbleet went to Myspace.com and posted the images he hopes will help find a killer. "based on the attack and how vicious it was this person is going to do it again and I can't let that happen to somebody else. I have to get justice for my father."

Angelika Taylor

Angelika Taylor sprung into internet action as soon as she heard her brother was missing. She told ABC News that it was not like her 25 year old brother Gregory to be out of touch with the family even for a few hours. So when they failed to hear from him for a full day, Taylor knew something was horribly wrong. She also knew that San Diego police would not consider it a missing persons case for at least another day. " I knew something was I just knew I needed to act fast to find him". But she was in Northern California, her brother lived in San Diego.

She posted a bulletin on Myspace, connecting with thousands of people almost instantaneously and within two hours Taylor received a call from a cousin of a friend of a friend. The caller was a school bus driver who believed that she had seen the car mentioned in the bulletin. At that moment, the caller, who does not want to be identified, was driving toward that car and Taylor asked if she could stay on the line with her.

Minutes later, Taylor received the news she was dreading. The bus driver told her she could see a body in the back of the car. It was Taylor's brother, found in just hours, with the help of a complete stranger hundreds of miles away and the internet. Taylor said the police were very impressed with her work. The people who killed her brother have yet to be brought to justice.

Matt Beck

When Matt Beck installed more than a dozen cameras in and around his home near Salt Lake City, Utah he never thought he would actually capture a crime but he did.

Matt installs and monitors security systems for homes and businesses and was testing out the latest gear at his house when he captured two young women stealing a very heavy tile saw from his garage. Because he had so many cameras Beck was able to capture the women casing his property, stealing the saw, and loading it into their car. Local police where very impressed when Beck presented them with the evidence that showed the crime from several angles. But just who were these women and how would police find then? Turns out police would not be needed. The very next day after the crime, Matt Beck spotted the women as he was driving on the highway near his home. He knew the car because it was missing a hub cap and so was this car. Beck called police and kept up the pursuit until police were able to make the stop and make the arrest. So not only did Beck capture the women stealing the saw, he also snapped their picture with his cell phone as they were handcuffed and and placed in custody.

So while many people continue to look for love or for furniture or for vacation deals a growing number of people in cyberspace are also looking for justice on-line.