Maj. Tim Horne, an investigator in North Carolina, had to solve the mysterious killing of an unidentified 10-year-old boy. He worked the case for 20 years until he finally learned the child's name days before he retired.

Full credit: Orange County Sheriff's Office/AP

Maj. Tim Horne, an investigator in North Carolina, had to solve the mysterious killing of an unidentified 10-year-old boy. He worked the case for 20 years until he finally learned the child's name days before he retired.

Full credit: Orange County Sheriff's Office/AP

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For decades he didn't give up trying to ID a boy and his killer. The obsession paid off just before this detective retired

For years Maj. Tim Horne had a box under his desk he'd bump his leg into almost every day.