IN THE PIPELINE:

Editor’s note: Chris Epting is a columnist for the Pilot’s sister paper, the Huntington Beach Independent.

The photos are chillingly blunt, in both their appearance and in their lettered-numeric identifications. A blood-red beanie on a flat, white background is marked PT-043409. Item No. 9 — Beanie. Case No. 08.005574. A black, gray and beige plaid blanket is tagged as Item No. 14.

But don’t be fooled. These two items, insignificant as they may look, may be what ultimately helps solve the brutal mystery of the death of Dane Williams. The blanket is the one this young man’s body was wrapped in. The hat, as Jim Williams, Dane’s dad, tells me, may have been pulled over Dane’s head so the people who killed him, according to detectives, wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. Either way, it was on Dane’s head when he was discovered in that squalid City Heights alley where he had been dumped. Jim barely chokes out that last part, because there’s only so much a father can take when he’s talking about his son, a memorable young man who inspired dozens of people to join the family in San Diego last week.

They were there to create some community outreach as the one-year anniversary approached of Dane’s disappearance and subsequent death.

Has it really been a year that this sparkling 23-year-old lost his life and he went missing from a downtown San Diego hotel? Yes. Are detectives any closer to figuring out who did this to him and arresting them?

Maybe, but it’s hard to say. Detectives are just not in the business of releasing many details about open cases, but they did issue these two photos last week, which gives the family some hope.

Jim said his wife, Dane’s mom, Valen, orchestrated a walk around near the Hard Rock, where Dane was last seen.

Approximately 40 volunteers handed out many fliers in the area, and according to Jim, “Many people remembered the case and actually thought it had been solved. They weren’t aware that it was ongoing and that we were still looking for the people that did this to Dane.”

Jim is convinced it was more than one assailant due to the size of Dane’s body.

“You’d need at least two, probably three to move someone as big and strong as Dane.”

Jim also told me that the local media were terrific in helping spread the word, and in the evening last Saturday, a rally was staged near the library.

The location was chosen due to the large number of homeless people who live near where Dane was found.

“That’s the tough reality,” Jim says. “We’re reaching out to people who may have been in a situation to see something or hear something on the street, but they’re scared — they fear retaliation, and so it makes it hard.

“Beyond that, little by little, we think people will also want to start reclaiming their neighborhoods and cities by anonymously offering information they may have about this crime and others as well.

“That’s the thing, we know the answers are out there; somewhere, someplace, someone knows something, and so it’s just about convincing people to share what they know.

“But it’s a huge challenge because potential witnesses fear for their own safety.”

It’s been a tough year for the Williams family, as this anniversary reminds us.

But as Jim said, the answers are out there, and so the mission continues to ferret out any bit of information that will help track down the people who did this to Dane.

Why there is not more public outrage in San Diego is a mystery to me, and given how intense media focus can help resolve situations like this, I wish there were more of it. Lots more.

So help spread the word — forward this article and others like it to decision-makers in San Diego, to media outlets, to congressmen, to the police — to whoever might be able to make a difference in helping solve this horrific crime.

People get outraged about so many things these days; why not focus that energy on perhaps that most serious of social challenges today — innocent people being killed in cold blood.

A $20,000 reward is still being offered, and anyone with any information on Dane Williams’ death is asked to call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-TIPS (the reward includes contributions by Crime Stoppers of San Diego County, Jack’s Surfboards of Huntington Beach and Hurley International).

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 15 books, including the new “Vanishing Orange County.” Write him at [email protected].