Do rewards work? Police run out of leads in 85-year-old veteran beating

When a family is suffering after a tragic murder and detectives have run out of leads and need help from the public....They often turn to rewards.

You've seen the announcements countless times on the news.

One of the latest for a Korean War Vet beaten and left for dead in Carson.

Do rewards work? It depends.

$25,000 ...That's the amount the Hernandez family hopes will help buy them some justice and closure.

85-year-old Frank Hernandez, father of four, grandfather of nine, husband for 60 years, Korean War Vet, was brutally beaten and left for dead on the streets of Carson earlier this year. No reason. Random.

The LA County Sheriff's Department has run into a dead-end and has offered this reward, along with the City of Carson hoping for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.

Rewards are a tried and true technique law enforcement uses to try to motivate people to come forward who need a little prodding beyond their conscience and their commitment to do the right thing.

Sometimes they work sometimes they don't...the fear of reprisal, revenge it often very real and inhibits people who might otherwise want to help.

The Hernandez family is in shock and hoping going public, sharing their pain, will lead to a break. The cold blooded killer that took their father, their grandfather, the husband is still out there, and could do it again.

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