In the months and years after state police launched their investigation into the Pennsylvania man’s slaying, South Gap community members have helped care for the memorial while an agent specializing in cold cases continues to work to solve the case.

“This one’s a modern-day homicide,” said Special Agent Russell Edwards. “I’d just hate to think that we can’t solve it.”

Edwards was assigned the case last October when he was selected as the state police’s Division Four cold case agent. Although a case isn’t typically considered “cold” until it’s gone unsolved for five or more years, an absence of witnesses and lack of physical evidence has made Ritchie’s death difficult to solve.

“Usually, you’ll have a witness, good physical evidence…, but this one? Super random. You have no witnesses, no video surveillance — absolutely nothing — out in the…