DeepTrace

Modern Cold Case Investigation Platform

A web-based tool for analyzing cold cases with AI-powered insights, evidence tracking, timeline reconstruction, and hypothesis analysis using formal investigative methodologies.

✨ Features

🎨 Modern Interface

• Light & Dark Themes - Easy on the eyes day or night
• Accessibility - Adjustable font sizes, high contrast
• Responsive Design - Works on desktop, tablet, and mobile

📊 Investigation Tools

• Case Management - Create and switch between multiple cases
• Evidence Tracking - Organize and categorize evidence items
• Timeline Builder - Reconstruct events chronologically
• Network Analysis - Visualize relationships between entities
• Hypothesis Testing - ACH (Analysis of Competing Hypotheses) matrix
• Source Assessment - Admiralty/NATO reliability scoring

📥 Data Import (Coming Soon)

• NamUs - Missing & unidentified persons database
• FBI ViCAP - Violent crime cases
• CSV/JSON - Bulk import from spreadsheets
• NCMEC - Missing children cases
• Doe Network - Cold case database

🔒 Security & Privacy

• Session-based case isolation
• Local-first data storage
• No case data leaves your server

🚀 Quick Start

Web Deployment (Recommended)

DeepTrace is designed as a web application. Deploy it to:

• Vercel - One-click deploy from GitHub
• Railway - Auto-deploy on push
• Render - Free tier available

See GITHUB_DEPLOYMENT.md for detailed instructions.

Local Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/DeepTrace.git
cd DeepTrace

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements-web.txt

# Run the server
python wsgi.py

Visit http://localhost:8080 in your browser!

📖 Usage

Creating a Case

1. Open DeepTrace in your browser
2. Click "Create Case" on the selector page
3. Enter a case name (e.g., jane-doe-1995)
4. Add optional description
5. Start investigating!

Switching Cases

Click the "🔄 Switch Case" button in the sidebar to access the case selector.

Importing Data

From the case selector, click "📥 Import from FBI, NamUs, etc." to access import tools.

🏗️ Architecture

• Backend: Flask (Python)
• Database: SQLite (with PostgreSQL support)
• Frontend: Modern HTML/CSS/JS with HTMX
• Visualization: vis.js for network graphs

📁 Project Structure

DeepTrace/
├── src/deeptrace/
│   ├── dashboard/          # Web interface
│   │   ├── routes/        # Flask routes
│   │   ├── static/        # CSS, JS, assets
│   │   └── templates/     # HTML templates
│   ├── db.py              # Database layer
│   └── commands/          # CLI commands
├── wsgi.py                # Web server entry point
├── requirements-web.txt   # Production dependencies
└── docs/                  # Documentation

🎯 Methodology

DeepTrace is grounded in formal investigative frameworks:

• ACH (Richards Heuer) - Hypothesis testing
• BEA (Brent Turvey) - Behavioral evidence analysis
• Admiralty System - Source reliability assessment
• VIVA Model - Victimology assessment
• OSINT Layers (Michael Bazzell) - Information gathering

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

FLASK_ENV=production
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///deeptrace.db

Deployment Platforms

DeepTrace includes configuration for:

• Vercel (vercel.json)
• Railway (railway.json)
• Heroku (Procfile)

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with methodologies from:

• Richards Heuer (CIA, ACH methodology)
• Brent Turvey (Forensic Analysis)
• Michael Bazzell (OSINT Techniques)
• National Missing Persons databases

📧 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

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Note: DeepTrace is designed for ethical cold case investigation, journalism, and research. Always respect privacy laws and regulations.