Detectives say the smallest details from witnesses can be the difference in catching a killer.

That was certainly true in the case of serial murderer Sam Little. What witnesses saw at the Happy Bar in Omaha in 1973 would eventually become an important detail to solving a murder.

They were able to describe the killer and what he was driving.

Information told to Omaha Police 46 years ago seemed to fade away until detectives caught a break a few months ago.

For the first time, we're putting a face to an Omaha cold case that's now been cleared.

In 1973, Agatha White Buffalo took a bus from South Dakota to Omaha for a lung biopsy.

Little did she know that a man she met downtown one November night would become one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history.

“I'm curious, too — where does she fit in the start?” said Lt. Stefanie Fidone of the Omaha Police Homicide Unit.

Last fall, Fidone read through the cold case binder, giving the 45-year-old unsolved murder a fresh perspective. Coincidently, two days later, she took a call from a Texas Ranger.

“They had a gentleman who was confessing to multiple murders across the U.S., and they believed

,” she said.

“Just because I had reviewed the Agatha White Buffalo case, I knew it was her.”

In November 1973, Agatha White Buffalo's body was found in a 55-gallon drum in South Omaha, her red coat nearby.

She had been strangled to death.

Fast-forward 45 years to Sam Little, the Texas inmate who — once he was caught for murder — finally decided to talk about other things he had done. He mentioned killing a woman in Omaha in the early 1970s.

“I was able to ask a couple of questions, like ‘What was he driving back then?' " she said.

A white Thunderbird.

“And our suspect was listed as driving a white Thunderbird," Fidone said.

So far, Little has confessed to 90 murders beginning in 1970. Omaha police tell me there are no other cold case victims here who match his M.O.

Fidone thinks Little may ultimately be linked to more than 100 murders across the county, which serves as a reminder for other victims left wondering about their case.

“I hope everyone maintains some level of hope — that they realize we never give up,” she said. “We keep these cases. We keep the files, reports, and books — always looking when people come in. And we'll ask about other homicides. You just never know what might happen to reopen a case.”

Happy Bar