James Berkeley Norris disappeared on October 3, 1974 while on a trip to Florida. His remains were found April 16, 1976. (Courtesy photo)

FAIRFIELD — Rosemary Norris-Southward searched for her brother for 36 years.

“Up until NamUs came up, all my efforts were disjointed,” Southward said. “I was even calling medical examiners throughout Florida asking if they had a John Doe that matched my brother.”

As it turned out, one did, but the connection was not made.

James Berkeley Norris left the Bay Area for Florida on Oct. 2, 1974. Unknown to his family, he was going to purchase a large quantity of marijuana with money pooled from among his friends. It was the last time his family would see him alive.

Norris’ body was found in a remote part of the Gulf Coast area in 1976. He was a victim of a homicide. The criminal case is still open.

But it was not until November 2010 that Southward was told officials in Florida had identified her brother, less than a year after she had entered his information into a new missing person database called NamUs – the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

As of April 1, there were more than 25,057 missing persons cases reported to NamUs, of which 10,533 had been resolved. Of that number, 1,266 had direct assistance from NamUs, the U.S. Department of Justice, which operates the system, reported. The number of unidentified people reported to NamUs, as of April 1, was 13,293, of which 2,150 had been resolved with 674 directly credited to NamUs, the Department of Justice reported.

Southward is a self-described cheerleader of the system.

“The system in itself is just fantastic, and agencies are just now using this system to the fullest,” Southward said. “The biggest thing is it is accessible to family members . . . And when I found out about NamUs, I entered the information about (James Norris) myself.”

Southward said there is a vetting process for the information, but whatever inconvenience that may prove to be, it is worth the possible results.

The Solano County Sheriff’s Office is uploading information on 25 cases, some dating back to the 1970s.

More recently, it is using the system in hopes of identifying a John Doe, whose body was recovered from the Mare Island Straits in May 2015. The department also has entered information about Pearl Pinson, the 15-year-old Vallejo girl who has not been seen since May 25.

Reach Todd R. Hansen at 427-6932 or [email protected]