Am I the only grossed out by the fact that authorities keep referring to helpful "tips" in this case? For instance:

His identity was traced through a tip made to Wendy's hot line...authorities "positively confirmed that this subject was in fact the source of the fingertip."

I think that, just in this instance, they should say "beneficial clues from citizens" or "information from cooperative locals." Yes, it's excessively wordy, but it's worth it just to spare us confusion about just which kind of "tips" the hot line has been receiving.