Mass Fatality Incidents: A Guide for Human Forensic Identification
June 2005In a mass fatality incident, correct victim identification is essential to satisfy humanitarian considerations, meet civil
and criminal investigative needs, and identify victim perpetrators. This 96-page Special Report provides medical examiners/coroners
with guidelines for preparing the portion of the disaster plan concerned with victim identification and summarizes the victim
identification process for other first responders. It discusses the integration of the medical examiner/coroner into the initial
response process, and presents the roles of various forensic disciplines (including forensic anthropology, radiology, odontology,
fingerprinting, and DNA analysis) in victim identification. This guide represents the experience of dozens of Federal, State,
international, and private forensic experts who took part in the Technical Working Group for Mass Fatality Forensic Identification.
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