There may be some evidence, but perhaps not enough to ensure a conviction. Often a prosecutor will wait for more evidence before the case goes to court. They must prove their case without a shadow of a doubt, and they risk losing to the defense if they prosecute too soon. The active investigation may be suspended, but the case is far from forgotten!

Just to clarify, an "investigator" for the police department is usually a detective.

A police detective does NOT make the decision to prosecute. That comes from the Prosecuting Attorney. The job of the police is to investigate (i.e. discover evidence and reveal the facts of the case in question.) This is documented and turned over to the Prosecuting Attorney who then decides whethe...

Just to clarify, an "investigator" for the police department is usually a detective.

A police detective does NOT make the decision to prosecute. That comes from the Prosecuting Attorney. The job of the police is to investigate (i.e. discover evidence and reveal the facts of the case in question.) This is documented and turned over to the Prosecuting Attorney who then decides whether or not there is enough evidence to convince a judge and/or jury of the defendant's guilt.

To address your question regarding the investigator "lying" I would need to know more information. Who is allegedly being lied to? Is it the suspect? During an interrogation, the interrogator can legally lie (to a certain extent) to facilitate a confession. For example, in a murder case involving 2 suspects, 1 suspect can be told that the other is confessing and making a deal with the Prosecutor. The goal in this case would be to get the second suspect scared enough to confess. Whether or not the statement regarding the first suspect is true makes no difference.

I can't really think of a situation, though, in which an investigator would say that a case is suspended in order to "scare" someone. Feel free to elaborate.