Understanding unidentified human remains investigations through the United States census data
Each year, thousands of unidentified human remains (UHR) cases are reported in the U.S. Technological advances have greatly enhanced the forensic community's capacity and capability to solve UHR cases, but little is known about the extent to which these resources are used by medical examiners a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Forensic Science International: Synergy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X22000109 |
| _version_ | 1811257557770043392 |
|---|---|
| author | Ashley L. Rodriguez Hope M. Smiley-McDonald M. Stirling Cummings Sean Wire Donia Slack Christopher L. Williams Kelly A. Keyes Jeri D. Ropero-Miller |
| author_facet | Ashley L. Rodriguez Hope M. Smiley-McDonald M. Stirling Cummings Sean Wire Donia Slack Christopher L. Williams Kelly A. Keyes Jeri D. Ropero-Miller |
| author_sort | Ashley L. Rodriguez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Each year, thousands of unidentified human remains (UHR) cases are reported in the U.S. Technological advances have greatly enhanced the forensic community's capacity and capability to solve UHR cases, but little is known about the extent to which these resources are used by medical examiners and coroners (MECs). Using public datasets, the study purpose is to describe the current state MEC system with respect to UHR cases, the resources used to investigate these cases, and the evidence retention polices in place. There was an overall decline in UHR cases reported between 2004 and 2018. Less than half of MECs in both study years reported having established written final disposition and evidence retention policies for UHR cases. National missing persons databases were underused. This study provides an important window into the present state of UHRs being handled by our Nation's MEC offices and the resources available to solve these difficult cases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:59:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b31283b8c8d4506b4e223b5a0549c93 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-871X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:59:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forensic Science International: Synergy |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b31283b8c8d4506b4e223b5a0549c932022-12-22T03:22:13ZengElsevierForensic Science International: Synergy2589-871X2022-01-014100225Understanding unidentified human remains investigations through the United States census dataAshley L. Rodriguez0Hope M. Smiley-McDonald1M. Stirling Cummings2Sean Wire3Donia Slack4Christopher L. Williams5Kelly A. Keyes6Jeri D. Ropero-Miller7Corresponding author.; RTI International, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USARTI International, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USARTI International, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USARTI International, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USARTI International, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USARTI International, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USARTI International, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USARTI International, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USAEach year, thousands of unidentified human remains (UHR) cases are reported in the U.S. Technological advances have greatly enhanced the forensic community's capacity and capability to solve UHR cases, but little is known about the extent to which these resources are used by medical examiners and coroners (MECs). Using public datasets, the study purpose is to describe the current state MEC system with respect to UHR cases, the resources used to investigate these cases, and the evidence retention polices in place. There was an overall decline in UHR cases reported between 2004 and 2018. Less than half of MECs in both study years reported having established written final disposition and evidence retention policies for UHR cases. National missing persons databases were underused. This study provides an important window into the present state of UHRs being handled by our Nation's MEC offices and the resources available to solve these difficult cases.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X22000109Unidentified human remainsCaseloadCoronerMedical examinerEvidence retention |
| spellingShingle | Ashley L. Rodriguez Hope M. Smiley-McDonald M. Stirling Cummings Sean Wire Donia Slack Christopher L. Williams Kelly A. Keyes Jeri D. Ropero-Miller Understanding unidentified human remains investigations through the United States census data Forensic Science International: Synergy Unidentified human remains Caseload Coroner Medical examiner Evidence retention |
| title | Understanding unidentified human remains investigations through the United States census data |
| title_full | Understanding unidentified human remains investigations through the United States census data |
| title_fullStr | Understanding unidentified human remains investigations through the United States census data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding unidentified human remains investigations through the United States census data |
| title_short | Understanding unidentified human remains investigations through the United States census data |
| title_sort | understanding unidentified human remains investigations through the united states census data |
| topic | Unidentified human remains Caseload Coroner Medical examiner Evidence retention |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X22000109 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ashleylrodriguez understandingunidentifiedhumanremainsinvestigationsthroughtheunitedstatescensusdata AT hopemsmileymcdonald understandingunidentifiedhumanremainsinvestigationsthroughtheunitedstatescensusdata AT mstirlingcummings understandingunidentifiedhumanremainsinvestigationsthroughtheunitedstatescensusdata AT seanwire understandingunidentifiedhumanremainsinvestigationsthroughtheunitedstatescensusdata AT doniaslack understandingunidentifiedhumanremainsinvestigationsthroughtheunitedstatescensusdata AT christopherlwilliams understandingunidentifiedhumanremainsinvestigationsthroughtheunitedstatescensusdata AT kellyakeyes understandingunidentifiedhumanremainsinvestigationsthroughtheunitedstatescensusdata AT jeridroperomiller understandingunidentifiedhumanremainsinvestigationsthroughtheunitedstatescensusdata |