Forensic Evidence Needed to Find - Case Study Example

Running head: FORENSIC EVIDENCE NEEDED Forensic Evidence Needed to Find A Missing Person: A Proposal (Affiliation) Introduction Noontime of May 27, 2007, Mr. Gerald Anderson along with wife Meredith, reported to the New York Police Department (NYPD) about their missing 22-year-old daughter Caroline. The couple allegedly found out about Caroline's absence when they visited her flat around 10:30 in the morning of same date. According to Mr. Anderson, "it was supposed to be a surprise visit for Caroline's birthday." But it was them who were surprised with the news from their daughter's flatmates that "Caroline has not been around for 3 days." Mrs. Anderson is extremely worried because "it was also 3 days ago since Caroline paid a call." According to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Caroline is a college student at the State University of New York and has a part-time clerical job at the university. They do not have the resources to locate their missing daughter, personally; hence, they are seeking the help of NYPD. Methods and Focus of Analysis As NYPD Forensic Team, we are proposing to gather and analyze the following organic and inorganic evidences to be able to locate Caroline Anderson: Interview Interview is the very basic thing to do in this case. Talking to Caroline's family, relatives, boyfriend, friends, flatmates, workmates and schoolmates will help us truly determine her background and what transpired before she disappeared. Among the questions to be answered are: What is her everyday routine Have they noticed anything awkward in her actuations in the past few days What are her affiliations Who are the persons she has been going out lately Is there a reason for her to run away Is it the first time for her to run away, go somewhere without telling her parents or anyone close to her If so, what was her reason for running away before Has she quarreled with anyone lately Has she confided about noticing something suspicious Picture Apart from the interview with relatives, friends and contacts, Caroline Anderson's photograph is one of the basic evidences. How can investigators find a missing person without having an idea of how the person looks like However, the photograph handed over by Caroline's family should not be solely relied on. It has to be uploaded to a computer to see how a person looks in different angles, different hairstyles or colors. Check Telephone Records Today, almost everybody has their own mobile phone for easy communication access. Hence, it is a must to check on the telephone company if Caroline has made any calls, local or long distance, prior to her disappearance (Galloway, 1997). Or she may have made a call at the time when she's reported missing. The people whom she called and the telephone record itself can provide a lead on her whereabouts. A number of cases have been solved from a lead taken at a telephone record. Multi-awarded investigator, Gil Alba, solved a case of a missing person by taking off from a lead on telephone record; Alba Investigations and the family of the missing person had a clue from the cellphone that this person is somewhere in Canada (Gassler, 2003). Revisit the path If Caroline Anderson disappeared after calling on her parents at New Jersey, the investigators must revisit the path she took while paying attention to every detail along the way. Coordination with the state's Police Department will also help. This will enable the investigator to check whether an unusual incident occurred during the time and day when Caroline Anderson is supposed to be traveling back to New York. If an unidentified female body was found nearby, the investigator can check on this. Hospitals and funeral parlors are worth checking as well. The family might believe that Caroline is still alive or just went somewhere, but investigators must be very objective. Visit Caroline's place Apart from her route, Caroline's flat, workplace and school also need to be revisited for some clue on her whereabouts. The arrangement of her things and the entire room should be taken into consideration. Does Caroline usually leave her place hurriedly and disorderly Is it different this time If so, did she intentionally fix her things neatly this time, since she will be out for quite a while Or did "someone" conspicuously fix it for her In the presence of an investigator, let someone from Caroline's family check on her things if she left a clue (a letter or a code, perhaps) on where she went or what happened to her. Car record Caroline has a car. Tracing its location at the Department of Motor Vehicle will help determine her whereabouts. Dental Records Investigation involves almost all fields of science. Among these is odontology or the study of teeth. Lewis Kamb of Seattle Post-Intelligence Reporter writes, "Experts say that once someone disappears, quickly retrieving that person's dental records -- if they exist -- will give investigators a jump start should a corpse turn up later" (2003). If Caroline Anderson remains missing for 30 days, the forensic experts have to get hold of her dental records to be able to match it with an unidentified body that might be found somewhere. Dental records have been so reliable that it has "accounted for about three-quarters of the 39 positive identifications made of recovered victims attributed to the Green River Killer" (Kamb, 2003). Recently, forensic experts discovered that even if the corpse was burned, dental record is still helpful in identifying it: Inorganic resins that make up the central matrix of tooth-colored dental fillings can withstand temperatures of 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, be recovered and named by brand or brand group. Comparing those elements and their proportions to the composition of the known filling brands recorded in a deceased's dental chart could help identify the remains unequivocally. (University at Buffalo, 2007). DNA Caroline Anderson's DNA is another way to identify her should anything morbid happen. This works hand-in-hand with the dental records. With DNA, the forensic experts can "look for matches at a number of different locations on the person's genome four (sometimes five) are used and a match at all five is rare enough that the investigator can be very confident that this is the right person" (Human Genome Project, 2006). Discussion As of the moment, the reason for Caroline Anderson's sudden disappearance is still yet to be determined. The data that will be gathered by talking to his relatives and friends, from the telephone company, from the Department of Motor Vehicles, by revisiting her place and the route she took will certainly lead us, investigators, to where Caroline is. The question remains: Is it a simple case of a "runaway child" who needs some time of "soul searching" or has Caroline been murdered That is what we will find out as we start collecting and analyzing these evidences. References Galloway, P. (1997). How to find a missing person. Retrieved May 26, 2007, from Gassler, C. (2003). Missing College Student. Alba Investigations. Retrieved May 26, 2007, from < http://www.albainvestigations.com/missingstudent.htm> Human Genome Project. (2006). DNA Forensics. Retrieved May 26, 2007, from < http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/forensics.shtml> Kamb, L. (2003). Identifying remains a tale of the teeth. Seattlepi.com. Retrieved May 26, 2007, from < http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/135819_dental20.html> University at Buffalo. (2007). Filling fragments can identify human remains, forensic dentists show. Retrieved May 26, 2007, from < http://www.buffalo.edu/news/8180> Read More