Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains: The Nations
Silent Mass Disaster
by Nancy Ritter
About the Author
Nancy Ritter is a writer/editor at the National Institute
of Justice and Editor of the NIJ Journal.
If you ask most Americans about a mass disaster, theyre
likely to think of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center,
Hurricane Katrina, or the Southeast Asian tsunami. Very
few peopleincluding law enforcement officialswould
think of the number of missing persons and unidentified
human remains in our Nation as a crisis. It is, however,
what experts call a mass disaster over time.
The facts are sobering. On any given day, there are as
many as 100,000 active missing persons cases in the United
States. Every year, tens of thousands of people vanish under
suspicious circumstances. Viewed over a 20-year period,
the number of missing persons can be estimated in the hundreds
of thousands.
Due in part to sheer volume, missing persons and unidentified
human remains cases are a tremendous challenge to State
and local law enforcement agencies. The workload for these
agencies is staggering: More than 40,000 sets of human remains
that cannot be identified through conventional means are
held in the evidence rooms of medical examiners throughout
the country.[1] But
only 6,000 of these cases15 percenthave been
entered into the FBIs National Crime Information Center
(NCIC) database.
Efforts to solve missing persons cases are further hindered
because many cities and counties continue to bury unidentified
remains without attempting to collect DNA samples. And many
labs that are willing to make the effort may not be equipped
to perform DNA analysis of human remains, especially when
the samples are old or degraded.
Compounding this problem is the fact that many of the Nations
17,000 law enforcement agencies dont know about their
States missing persons clearinghouse or the four Federal
databasesNCIC, National Crime Information Center;
CODIS(mp), Combined DNA Index System for Missing Persons;
IAFIS, Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System;
and ViCAP, Violent Criminal Apprehension Programwhich
can be invaluable tools in a missing person investigation.
(See sidebar, The
Federal Databases and What They Do.) Even in jurisdictions
that are familiar with the State and Federal databases,
some officials say they have neither the time nor the resources
to enter missing persons and unidentified human remains
data into the systems.
Bridging the Gap
To help State and local jurisdictions address the countrys
mass disaster over time, the National Institute
of Justice (NIJ) has brought together some of the countrys
top criminal justice and forensic science experts. As part
of the Presidents multiyear initiative to maximize
the use of forensic DNA in solving crime, NIJ is making
Federal resources available to State and local law enforcement
officials to identify human remains and help solve missing
persons cases.
NIJs plan is multifaceted. It includes programs aimed
at:
- Training medical examiners, law enforcement officers,
and victims families on forensic DNA evidence.
- Providing free testing of unidentified human remains
and family reference samples.
- Encouraging Statesthrough proposed model legislationto
collect DNA samples before unidentified remains are disposed
of and to analyze degraded and old biological samples.
- Making DNA reference sample collection kits available,
free of charge, to any jurisdiction in the country.
- Increasing law enforcements use of Federal databases
to solve missing persons and unidentified human remains
cases.
CSI Meets the Real World
Many of the people who go missing in the United States
are victims of homicide. Although the conventional approach
to locating a missing person is to initiate a criminal investigation
into the disappearance, in many cases, the investigation
begins at a different pointwhen human remains are
found.
This is where the Center for Human Identification (CHI)
steps in. Located at the University of North Texas Health
Science Center, CHI is one of NIJs largest and most
exciting DNA projects. At CHIs laboratory in Ft. Worth,
State and local law enforcement agencies can have nuclear
and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing performed on skeletal
remains and on missing persons family and direct reference
samples.[2] Experts
at CHIs Laboratory for Forensic Anthropology, such
as Harrell Gill-King, Ph.D., also perform anthropological
examinations on unidentified human remains to determine
manner and cause of death. All of this testing is free.
NIJs funding of this revolutionary project means
that every jurisdiction in the United States has access
to one of the few laboratories in the country that can search
mtDNA and short tandem repeat (STR)[3]
profiles in the CODIS(mp) database.
It also means that Dereck Bachmann can finally stop looking
for his sister.
Finally, Closure
Marci Bachmann was 16 when she ran away from her Vancouver,
Washington home in May 1984. Although her remains were found
a few months laterdiscovered in the woods near Deer
Creek in Missoula, Montanano one knew that the remains
were hers.
For nearly two decades, Dereck, Marcis brother, searched
newspapers and missing persons files and even hired a private
investigator to find Marci. Finally, in 2004, a series of
events brought him and his family the closure they were
seeking.
It began when a cold case detective in Missoula heard about
CHI. The detective sent a femur from the Deer Creek remains
to the lab. There, scientists ran DNA tests on the bone
fragments and uploaded the profile into the CODIS(mp) database.
Meanwhile, in King County, Washington, authorities working
on an unrelated murder case came across Marcis missing
persons file. Detectives tracked down Marcis mother,
obtained a DNA sample from her, and sent it to the CHI lab.
When a database search indicated a potential match with
the remains of the victim in the Deer Creek case, officials
sent DNA from Marcis brother and father to CHI for
further tests.
On April 6, 2006more than 21 years after her body
was unearthed from a shallow graveMarci Bachmann was
found.[4]
(See sidebar, One
Face Behind NIJs Work.)
Solving Cold Cases
When George Adams, program manager for CHI, is asked about
cold hits like the Marci Bachmann casewhere the DNA
from unidentified remains matches the DNA from reference
samples that have been sent to the lab without any apparent
connectionhe paraphrases Vernon Geberth from Practical
Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic
Techniques. Solving a cold case like Marcis
is not a matter of chance or luck; it is, quite simply,
a matter of design and protocol.
The design Adams refers to is the CODIS(mp)
database. The protocol works like this: A person
goes missing; if he or she is not found within 30 days,
a family reference sample is obtained. The sample can take
either of two formsa DNA sample from a close relative
(obtained by a simple, noninvasive cheek swab) or from a
personal item belonging to the missing person (such as hair
from a comb or saliva from a toothbrush). The sample is
then sent to the lab, and the DNA is analyzed. The results
or profiles are then loaded into the database.
Simultaneously, human remains found throughout the country
are being sent to CHIs lab for analysis and uploading
into the database. DNA profiles from missing persons or
their families are compared with unidentified human remains
in the CODIS(mp) database. If we already have the
family reference sample, we will get a match, Adams
stated. No longer does solving a missing persons or unidentified
human remains case have to depend on a break in the
investigation, he added, because we now have
the design and protocol of pure science.
Populating the Database: Sample Collection Kits
But the database will help solve cases only if profiles
from DNA samples and recovered human remains are submitted
for analysis and uploaded into the system. Weve
seen a tremendous increase in the number of remains samples,
but we really need to work on getting family reference samples,
said Arthur Eisenberg, Ph.D., director of CHI and a member
of NIJs Missing Persons National Task Force. If
families dont send reference or biological sampleswhich
at this stage must be collected by a law enforcement officialhuman
remains cannot be identified.
To facilitate this process, NIJ has funded CHIs development
of two DNA sample collection kits: one for family reference
samples and the other for collecting and transporting human
remains. Both kits are available free of charge to any police
department, medical examiner, or coroner in the United States.
As of July 2006, more than 4,000 family reference sample
kits had been disseminated.
Getting the Word Out
Spreading the word about this free resource remains a challenge.
Last June, the Washington States Office of the Attorney
General issued a bulletin encouraging local jurisdictions
to send family reference samples to CHI, making Washington
the first State to solicit samples on a statewide basis.
Eisenberg said he has no doubt that as word of the CHI analysis
and database spreads, it will come to be regarded not as
a tool of last resort in missing persons and unidentified
human remains cases, but rather as a primary investigative
tool.
As of July 2006, CHI had received more than 680 unidentified
human remains and more than 1,600 family reference samples.
Importantly, the lab is in the final stages of being able
to use robots, which will allow the number of DNA analyses
to skyrocket: one robot, for example, will be able to analyze
17,800 DNA samples per year.
Five StatesCalifornia, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico,
and Texashave laws that focus on locating missing
persons and identifying human remains. In 2005, NIJ brought
together Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials,
forensic scientists, victims advocates, legislators, and
families of missing persons to draft model State legislation
on the prompt collection, analysis, and dissemination of
evidence to help solve these cases. (See www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/210740v2.pdf.)
Seven States (Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland,
Ohio, and Washington) and the District of Columbia have
introduced bills that use the proposed legislation as guidance.
Also, legislators in Kansas and New Mexico are seeking to
amend their existing laws.
Moving to Solve the Problem
In addition to prohibiting the cremation of unidentified
remains, the model legislation would require that:
- Law enforcement agencies accept every missing person
report and share case information with State and regional
authorities.
- DNA samples be taken within 30 days of a missing person
report and the individuals profile be added to national,
State, and local databases.
- Cases involving high-risk missing persons be assessed
immediately (high-risk cases might include, for example,
a possible stranger abduction or a person who requires
medical attention or is mentally impaired).
- DNA analysis be performed on all unidentified human
remains.
Searching the Databases
One of the biggest challenges in missing persons and unidentified
human remains cases is searching and correlating case information.
The Missing Persons National Task Force is examining ways
that Federal databases can share information to help solve
these cases.
The challenge is significant. For example, NCIC contains
more than 100,000 missing persons cases, but the Integrated
Automated Fingerprint Identification System contains only
47. NCIC contains just 15 percent of unidentified human
remains cases, in part because it is so labor intensive
to enter the data into the system. To encourage State and
local law enforcement agencies use of NCIC, the FBI
published an updated version of the Missing Persons and
Unidentified Persons data collection guides, which walk
users through the process of comparing new and existing
data on missing persons and unidentified human remains investigations.
Electronic versions of the guides are available to law enforcement
officials through the Law Enforcement Online (LEO) intranet.
ViCAP is another valuable tool available to State and local
officials. It is also underused for several reasons. Because
data entered into NCIC do not automatically populate the
ViCAP database (which is also run by the FBI), many jurisdictions
choose not to use it. And until recently, most of the Nations
medical examiners and coroners did not have access to ViCAP.
This situation is changing, however, as the FBI negotiates
memoranda of understanding with local jurisdictions that
will give medical examiners and coroners access to the database.
The FBI is also developing a DVD for law enforcement that
explains how ViCAP works. And with help from the Criminal
Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, ViCAP may
soon be Web-enabled. Instead of having to enter case information
via a CD-ROM, which is then mailed to CJIS for uploading,
users would need only an Internet connection and an LEO
account to enter case data directly into ViCAP.
Law Enforcement Training ... and More
In addition to funding CHIs work, NIJ administers
a wide range of projects under the Presidents DNA
Initiative. One major effort involves the training of police
officers; prosecutors, defense counsel, and judges; forensic
and medical specialists; victim service providers; and corrections,
probation, and parole officers on the use of forensic DNA
evidence. To date, NIJ has held two regional missing persons
training conferences, and by the end of 2006, NIJs
missing persons training reached professionals from all
50 States. NIJ is also developing many types of electronic
training toolsone recent release is Principles
of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court, an interactive,
computer-based training program on the use of DNA evidence
in the courtroom.
Other NIJ programs seek to eliminate the backlog of biological
samples in murder, rape, and kidnapping cases in forensic
laboratories across the country. Since 2004, NIJ has provided
funding to State and local agencies to reduce casework and
convicted offender backlogs. NIJ also supports the development
of tools and technology for faster, less costly methods
of DNA analysis, including ways to analyze smaller and more
degraded biological samples.
And NIJ will continue to fund programs that enhance the
use of DNA to solve crimes, protect the innocent, and identify
missing persons.
NCJ 216523
Sidebars
The Federal Databases and What They Do
- CODIS(mp) (Combined DNA Index System for Missing Persons): Also known as the National Missing Person DNA Database (NMPDD), CODIS(mp)
is a database specifically designed to assemble data on missing persons
and unidentified human remains cases. It was created in 2000 by the FBI
using existing portions of the CODIS database. The searchable database includes
information on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA obtained from unidentified
remains, relatives of missing persons, and personal reference samples. Having
both types of DNA profiles maximizes the potential for a successful identification.
- IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification
System): Maintained by the FBIs Criminal Justice Information Services
Division, this national fingerprint and criminal history database provides
automated fingerprint search capabilities, latent search capability, electronic
image storage, and electronic exchange of fingerprints and responses. Agencies
may submit fingerprints electronically and will receive quick turnaround
on analyses.
- NCIC (National Crime Information Center): An information
system maintained by the FBI and dedicated to serving and supporting Federal,
State, and local criminal justice agencies.
- ViCAP (Violent Criminal Apprehension Program): This nationwide
data center is designed to collect, collate, and analyze information on
crimes of violence, such as homicides, sexual assaults, kidnappings, and
missing persons cases.
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ONE FACE BEHIND NIJS
WORK
Melody Reillys brother, Shawn, was murdered in the summer of 2005.
His body was dumped in a field in rural Bastrop County, Texas, and was extremely
decomposed when found. A year later, the Center for Human Identification (CHI),
at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, identified Shawns
body from his DNA. Here is the letter that Melody wrote to George Adams, of
CHI, after the men who killed her brother were convicted.
Dear Mr. Adams,
I just want to tell you how much your offices work means to me, my
sisters, our husbands, children, and extended family. Also on behalf of our
parents, who are no longer here; but I am sure they appreciate your efforts,
as well.
My sister Michelle and I were in court during the trial last week, and it
was so comforting to see the people who worked so hard to identify my brothers
remains.
My brother, Shawn, was an amazing and special person who ended up in the
company of the wrong, and the worst, people. What our family has gone through
is almost the worst you can imaginewondering where Shawn was, hoping
the remains were not his. The only thing worse is the terrible thought of
not knowing where my brother is now. I wish he was here next to me, laughing
and smiling, but unfortunately that is no longer possible. What your office
did to identify my brother and allow us to bring his remains home is something
I can never repay or express enough gratitude for. It really scares me to
think we could be in a completely different place right now.
We feel badly because we put so much pressuresometimes dailyon
Investigator Yarbrough to give us some answers from August through March,
and he tried his best to keep us calm. I didnt realize how much work
and time it takes to identify someone, and I am now happy that your office
took every day and every minute they needed to get it done properly.
Please pass my thoughts on to those involved and let them know their work
is important and invaluable. I am attaching a photo of Shawn so maybe you
and they can have a nicer image of him.
Melody Reilly
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For More Information
Notes
[1] |
The Bureau of Justice
Statistics is finalizing a comprehensive census of the
Nations medical examiners and coroners. This studyexpected
to be published in early 2007will examine data
from 2,000 medical examiners and coroners and focus
on the issue of unidentified human remains. |
[2] |
Nuclear DNA is the
genetic material inherited from both parents: half from
the mother and half from the father. It is found in
the nucleus of each cell and is unique to each individual
(except in cases of identical twins). Nuclear DNA is
a powerful identifier and has been used for forensic
purposes for decades. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)which
is found in the mitochondria of a cell, outside the
nucleusis inherited solely from the mother and
is not unique. Everyone in the same maternal line, for
generations, will have the same mtDNA. Its use as a
forensic tool in narrowing the pool of possible donors
of a sample is a more recent development. |
[3] |
Short tandem repeats
(STRs) are short sequences of DNA nucleotides that are
repeated numerous times. An individual genetic profile
can be created by counting the number of repeats of
the DNA sequence at a specific location on a chromosome.
This repeat number varies greatly between individuals. |
[4] |
According to authorities
in Missoula, Marci Bachmann was murdered by Missoula
serial killer Wayne Nance. |