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Author Topic: Missing Persons/Unidentified Remains:The Nation’s Silent Mass Disaster  (Read 42771 times)
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Nut44x4
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RIP Grumpy Cat :( I will miss you.


« on: November 19, 2007, 07:38:19 PM »

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/256/missing-persons.html

Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains: The Nation’s Silent Mass Disaster

If you ask most Americans about a mass disaster, they’re likely to think of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina, or the Southeast Asian tsunami. Very few people—including law enforcement officials—would 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 cases—15 percent—have been entered into the FBI’s 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 Nation’s 17,000 law enforcement agencies don’t know about their State’s missing persons clearinghouse or the four Federal databases—NCIC, National Crime Information Center; CODIS(mp), Combined DNA Index System for Missing Persons; IAFIS, Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System; and ViCAP, Violent Criminal Apprehension Program—which 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 country’s “mass disaster over time,” the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has brought together some of the country’s top criminal justice and forensic science experts. As part of the President’s 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.

NIJ’s 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 States—through proposed model legislation—to 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 enforcement’s 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 point—when 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 NIJ’s largest and most exciting DNA projects. At CHI’s 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 CHI’s 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.

NIJ’s 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 later—discovered in the woods near Deer Creek in Missoula, Montana—no one knew that the remains were hers.

For nearly two decades, Dereck, Marci’s 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 Marci’s missing persons file. Detectives tracked down Marci’s 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 Marci’s brother and father to CHI for further tests.

On April 6, 2006—more than 21 years after her body was unearthed from a shallow grave—Marci Bachmann was “found.”[4]

(See sidebar, “One Face Behind NIJ’s Work.”)

Solving Cold Cases
When George Adams, program manager for CHI, is asked about cold hits like the Marci Bachmann case—where the DNA from unidentified remains matches the DNA from reference samples that have been sent to the lab without any apparent connection—he paraphrases Vernon Geberth from Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic Techniques. “Solving a cold case like Marci’s 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 forms—a 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 CHI’s 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. “We’ve 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 NIJ’s Missing Persons National Task Force. “If families don’t send reference or biological samples—which at this stage must be collected by a law enforcement official—human remains cannot be identified.”

To facilitate this process, NIJ has funded CHI’s 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 State’s 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 States—California, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas—have 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 individual’s 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 Nation’s 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 CHI’s work, NIJ administers a wide range of projects under the President’s 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, NIJ’s missing persons training reached professionals from all 50 States. NIJ is also developing many types of electronic training tools—one 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 FBI’s 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.

MORE AT THE LINK.
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One who doesn't trust is never deceived...

'I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind' -Edgar Allen Poe
MumInOhio
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« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2007, 07:18:46 AM »

Thanks Nut for posting this. It is indeed an epidemic.
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MumInOhio
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« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2007, 08:29:33 AM »

Stories of lost so terrible, too easy to forget
Mary Schmich
November 18, 2007

Theresa Bunn, 21, strangled, burned and found dead in a garbage bin.

Stacy Peterson, 23, missing, feared dead.

Kathleen Savio, 40, exhumed, possibly murdered.

Lisa Stebic, 37, missing, feared dead.

Alma Mendez, 39, throat slashed.

Unknown woman, age unknown, burned, strangled and left in a trash bin. That's the list of missing or dead women who've made Chicago headlines in the first half of November alone.

A person in another country who heard these reports could easily feel about Chicago the way I feel when I hear news accounts of women routinely abused in foreign places:

What a primitive society it must be to treat its women so violently, as if women were inferior and disposable.

But I live here, in this civilized place, and so I know, or tell myself, that these incidents in Chicago and its suburbs are not the mark of rampant evil or a full-blown cultural disorder. So many such events in so short a time is an anomaly, not a trend.

And though violence against women is only too common, if the media didn't play the stories so big -- and do so partly to entertain an audience that thrives on whodunits about women in peril -- we wouldn't feel we were in the midst of an epidemic. I tell myself.

Still, the accumulation of these cases is unusually depressing and impossible to ignore even if, as I've done, you've turned away from the daily details.

I've been reluctant to give full attention to any of these cases because it feels like gawking at violence and at the misery of others, allowing their pain to be turned into our diversion.

And yet, so many women gone. If you live here, you can't help but feel it.

Every day lately we face the images, on TV, in the newspaper, on Web sites.

One day recently it was the friends and family of Lisa Stebic holding a candlelight vigil to mark the six-month anniversary of Lisa's disappearance. Another day, they were giving out hand-warmers bearing Lisa's picture to hunters in the Michigan vacation area where her estranged husband has been known to hunt.

Then there was the day the body of Kathleen Savio, the third wife of a suburban cop named Drew Peterson, was heaved out of the graveyard dirt as part of the investigation into the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy.

Another day it was Alma Mendez, slain in her jogging clothes, pulled from a lake in a forest preserve.

Then there was Theresa Bunn, eight months' pregnant, discovered in a South Side garbage bin, just like another woman who hasn't yet been granted the dignity of a name.

Only a few weeks ago, there was another woman, too, a pretty, lively woman who dominated the news for days after she went missing:

Nailah Franklin, 28, found partially buried behind a vacant building.

You may have forgotten her name already. That's another strange, depressing aspect of this spate of deaths and disappearances. How quickly each name is replaced by another in the news cycle, though not in the hearts of the people for whom the lost women are so much more than news.

Theresa, Stacy, Kathleen, Lisa, Alma, Nailah.

Long after the news is gone, the people who have loved them will think about them, weep for them, see them in their dreams.

And the rest of us, because we don't live in a primitive society, might take a moment to remember these women really are more than just news stories, more than just cases to be debated and mysteries to be solved, like an episode of "CSI." They are, they have been, our neighbors.

-----------

Nut..Just saw your posts in Stacy's thread  and decided to post this article here.
This is way past the ridiculous and what is even worse is a lot of these cases do not offer the families answers. Either no bodies are found or no suspects.


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« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2007, 05:52:13 PM »

In death, they have no names. Can you identify them?
By Sofia Santana | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
April 27, 2007
More than 150 people have been laid to rest in Broward and Palm Beach Counties without anyone ever knowing their names.
Many were homicide victims. For those cases we've listed the agency that handled the investigation. They'll still take tips on even the oldest cases.

The cause of death for the rest on the list varies, from car accident to suicide.

Many of these people left family and friends behind who might still be looking for them.

Some of the dead might have come to South Florida to start over in a place where no one knew them. Others might have just been passing through when they ran into trouble.

It's possible that some of them had been reported missing locally but no one at the time made any connection between the missing person report and the dead body.

Their cases are detailed below with information taken from medical examiner records and newspaper articles.

Anyone with information on any of the cases may call the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office at 954-327-6500 or the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office at 561-688-4575. Tipsters who want to remain anonymous can dial Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS or Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 561-458-TIPS.

1973

September 19
Loxahatchee
The body of a woman who likely was in her 20s or 30s was found along Indian Trail Road. She was black, at least 5' tall and at least 110 pounds. She had black hair and no teeth on her upper jaw. Her right clavicle was shorter than the left from an injury earlier in her life.

1974

April 23
Plantation
The body of a woman who could have been in her late 30s or 40s was found floating along the south bank of the canal at State Road 84 and Flamingo Road. She was white, about 5' 6'' to 5'9'' and weighed 147 pounds. She had a 6-inch surgical scar just above her pubic bone and was missing all her teeth. Investigators say she drowned, but they could not determine at the time whether the case was a homicide or an accidental drowning. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

June 19
Davie
A white woman, possibly in her late teens or even early 30s, was found dead in a drainage ditch near Hiatus Road and State Road 84. She was about 5' 4'' tall and had shoulder-length light brown hair and brown eyes. She was missing a molar but otherwise had all her teeth and several fillings. She wore a necklace, one white metal hoop earring and a square-faced watch with Roman numerals. She was in high heels with cork soles and wearing a light blue blouse with a tag of "Climax by David Howard." She also had on a narrow belt with silver dots on it. Investigators could not determine exactly how she died, but it's possible the case was a homicide. Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

1975

December 23
Davie
A woman on horseback came upon the body of a young girl floating in a canal north of Southwest 28th Street and 154th Avenue, in Davie. Investigators found no signs of trauma to the body but said it's possible the case was a homicide. The girl was likely in her teens. She was white about 5'5,'' 125 pounds and had brown hair. She had a gap in her two front teeth and wore a green flower-printed blouse, blue flared pants and blue platform shoes. She also had on a white puka necklace, made from bits of shells, and a silver ring with a blue stone in the center surrounded by three white gems.

Agency: Davie police

1976

October 26
Belle Glade
A man was found shot to death on the Talisman Sugar Farm, about two miles south of the city limits, but the exact location was not available. He was white, likely in his 20s or 30s, and had straight brown hair and brown eyes. He was muscular and about 5'8'' and 180 pounds. He wore a Timex watch with a silver band that had "LJ" engraved on the underside. The band also had two coral and turquoise-colored stones on it.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

1977

March 13
Hollywood
The body of a mutilated newborn was found in a wooded area in the 6200 block of Garfield Street. His death was ruled a homicide, but investigators could not determine whether he died from neglect, exposure or, possibly, suffocation. Someone had cut off his left hand. The baby was white, weighed 6 pounds and was about 20 inches. He had blue eyes and brown hair. Investigators pleaded with the public to help them find the mother, but no one ever came forward.

Agency: Hollywood police

1978

January 18
Boca Raton
Investigators found a skeleton that likely used to be a white woman who was in her 20s or 30s in the Boca del Mar neighborhood along Palmetto Park Road and west of Interstate 95. The woman was at least 5' tall and had a possible fracture on one of her ribs.

February 26
Deerfield Beach
Investigators found a set of human bones in a wooded area about a mile west of Powerline Road, just south of Hillsboro Boulevard. They likely belonged to a white man who could have been in his late teens of early 20s. He was between 5'2'' and 5'1-'' tall and weighed between 110 and 150 pounds and had brown hair. He wore light blue trousers, a beige long-sleeved shirt with a floral design and birds, light green jockey underwear and black shoes with green laces. Investigators said he was murdered, shot in the head and back. He had likely been dead about a year. Investigators suspected the bones might have belonged to a Deerfield Beach man who had been reported missing, but they were unable to confirm that.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

February 27
South Bay
A man who had been slain was found floating in the New River Canal, south of the city He was white and likely was between 30 and 50 years old. He was about 5'4'' to 5'6'' and had a stocky build. He weighed between 155 and 170 pounds and had straight black hair and a receding hairline. He may have worn dentures.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

November 7
Hollywood
The decomposed remains of a black man, 20 to 30 years old, were found washed up on the beach in the 4000 block of South Surf Road. The man was likely about 5'6' to 6'' and 135 pounds. He wore a white T-shirt and carried a root bag charm. He was possibly Haitian. Investigators think he drowned, but because the body was decomposed they could not be sure.

1979

March 3
South Bay
A man who looked to be in his 50s or 60s drowned in Lake Okeechobee after having a heart attack and collapsing in the water. No one found his body for at least two weeks. He was black, about 5'7'' and 150 to 180 pounds. He had curly black hair and brown eyes. He had lost most of his teeth and carried a cross and chain with two keys attached.

March 25
Hallandale Beach
The body of a man who was likely between 30 and 45 years old was found in the 1200 block of East Hallandale Beach Boulevard. He was white, between 5'9'' and 5'10'' and weighed 150-160 pounds. He wore olive green trousers with an inseam of 31 inches a waistband of 32 inches. He wore a leather belt with a buckle featuring an Indian horseman. He had been dead at least two months, but investigators could not determine how he died.

April 13
South Bay
A man's body was found in the city, but the exact location was not available. He was white, about 5'6'' and 180 and 220 pounds. The man, who had brown hair and eyes, likely was in his 20s or 30s. He wore brown Levi's corduroys that were made in Canada.

November 2
Oakland Park
A man who was about 5'5'' tall and weighed 208 pounds died in a car wreck at an Interstate 95 exit ramp to Commercial Boulevard. He was white and could have been in his 20s or early 30s. Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

1980

March 1
Fort Lauderdale
A young man who was about 5'6''and weighed 151 pounds was killed in a wreck at Interstate 95, near Andrews Avenue. He was white and likely in his teens or early 20s. His body landed on the west side of the highway, in a ditch. He had brown hair and eyes and a thin mustache and beard. Investigators found an overturned car at the crash scene and witnesses who said four people in the car ran away from the scene. It also appeared that someone had crashed through the windshield, but investigators were unable to determine if the unidentified man was a passenger in the car or a pedestrian.

June 23
West of Boca Raton
The body of a white woman who might have given birth at one point in her life was found floating in the Hillsboro Canal, west of State Road 7. She likely was in her 20s or 30s and about 5'6'' and 120 pounds. She had black hair and brown eyes and had several crowns in her teeth and a root canal.

July 6
Dania Beach
The decomposed remains of a white man who was likely in his 30s or 40s were found at a marina in the 3700 block of Ravenswood Road. The man had brown hair, was about 5'6'' and weighed 115 pounds. Investigators could not determine his eye color. He had a four and a half- inch scar on his lower right abdomen. His cause of death remains "undetermined."

July 14
Dania Beach
The body of a black man who was likely in his 20s was found in a canal in the 800 block of Northeast Third Street. Investigators ruled his death an accidental drowning. He was about 5'11'' and weighed about 160 pounds. He had black hair, brown eyes and a mustache and had been seen swimming in the canal earlier that day.

July 19
Fort Lauderdale
The body of a black woman who was likely between 25 and 30 years old, about 5'6'' tall and 141 pounds was found in a field at 1926 Northwest Ninth Street. She wore a red and green checkered long-sleeved pullover shirt and brownish-beige jeans. She had been shot in the head several times. She had needle tracks, from drug use, on her wrist and forearm and a one-inch scar on the back of her right thumb. She also had a two and a half-inch scar on her right forearm.

Agency: Fort Lauderdale police

September 7
Deerfield Beach
A white man who was likely in his 20s or 30s was found dead in a lake in Quiet Waters Park. He had blonde hair and, possibly, blue eyes. He was 5'9'', about 120 pounds. He wore dark brown corduroy trousers with a label that read "Wild Fire, Sportware, Levi," canvass-type black shoes and dark-colored socks. Investigators found bullet casings in the area, but could not determine if they were related to the body. The cause of his death was ruled "undetermined."

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

November 5
Fort Lauderdale
A 10-inch-by-12-inch piece of skin was found floating about two and a half miles east of Port Everglades. Investigators believe it corresponded to a man's groin area. Part of the skin had been clearly severed, but it was not enough evidence for investigators to determine whether the case was a homicide. It's possible the man's body was eaten by sharks.

1981

April 17
Miramar
The skeleton of a man who was likely in his 20s or 30s was found in a drainage ditch about 40 feet from the Turnpike. The body had been wrapped in a plastic bag and attached to an anchor that had kept it under water. Investigators believed the skeleton had been buried elsewhere before it was dumped in the canal days before investigators found it. The man likely was about 5'5'' and 130 to140 pounds. He probably had been dead five or six months. He had a dozen fillings and several cavities. Investigators could not determine exactly how he died but ruled the case a homicide.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office and Miramar police

May 23
Fort Lauderdale
The skeletal remains of a white man investigators think was between 45 and 60 years old were found in a field in the 1900 block of West Broward Boulevard. The gray-haired man was 5'6'' and about 132 pounds. He died from chronic alcoholism. Police thought he was a homeless man who was refused entry into a local shelter and, thus, lived in the field.

October 1
Fort Lauderdale
A man in his 30s was killed in a wreck on Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale. He was white, about 5'8'' and weighed 160 to 170 pounds. He had blue eyes and brown hair.

1982

January 24
Fort Lauderdale
A man with "LOTTIE" tattooed on his right arm and "SLIM" and two capital Z's with an arrow through them tattooed on his left shoulder was found floating in the New River, near the 400 block of Southwest Seventh Avenue. He likely drowned. He was white and probably between 45 and 60 years old. He was about 6'3'' and 155 pounds.

January 11
West Palm Beach (unincorporated)
The body of a black man who was in his 20s or 30s was found in a wooded area near State Road 7 and Okeechobee Boulevard. The man, who appeared homeless, was about 5'6'' and 135 to 176 pounds. He had black, curly hair and brown eyes. He had an old fracture on the right side of his nose, one tooth crown and several fillings. He carried a note from a Rev. Ewing. People who live in the area said they often saw him collecting aluminum cans from the side of the road.

February 13
Pembroke Pines
Bones that likely were from a white man, possibly between 21 and 35 years old, were found covered in weeds at Southwest 172nd Avenue, about a half mile south of Pines Boulevard. He had likely been dead six to eight weeks. He was between 5'10'' and 6' about 150 to 170 pounds with shoulder length brown hair. Investigators have not determined how he died. They found no signs of trauma on the bones but said it appears he had either a right hip abnormality or arthritis of the hip, which might have left him with a limp. He was missing two teeth from his lower jaw. He wore blue Calvin Klein jeans, a white T-shirt with orange and red stripes and a Western style brown belt. He had one dark colored loafer shoe with a silver buckle with the letter P in the center. Investigators were unable to determine how he died but found evidence that his body had been placed in the weeds after he died. Agency: Pembroke Pines police

March 30 and 31
Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach and Pompano Beach
The bodies of 12 Haitian refugees who drowned washed ashore in Boca Raton and northern Broward after their boat, the Esperancia, capsized off shore. Three of the dead were women, the other nine were men.

May 29
Loxahatchee
The skeleton of a woman who might've been in her teens or early 20s was found buried in a shallow grave on F Road. Someone had wrapped her nude body in a green nylon bag. The woman either was white or Hispanic, possibly Colombian. She had dark, shoulder-length hair and was between 5' and 5'3'' and likely weighed about 100 pounds. She wore a set of earrings that were handmade from U. S. pennies dated 1979. She likely had been dead one to three years. It's unclear how she was slain, but the killer sliced off her fingerprints. That's led investigators to believe that the killer knew the victim well and worried that he or she could be easily linked to the crime if the body is ever identified. Investigators compared the skeleton to more than a thousand missing persons cases from across the country but could not find a match. p> Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

July 12
Pompano Beach
The body of a man with a 6-inch scar on his lower right leg was found floating in a canal in the 2300 block of Powerline Road, near Copans Road. He was white, likely between 21 and 35 years old, about 5'6'' and weighed 103 pounds. His cause of death was ruled "undetermined."

July 14
Loxahatchee
Two men and a woman were found shot to death on New Hope Sugar property, their bodies wrapped in plastic, clothing and bed sheets and then dumped in a drainage ditch. Investigators thought the killings could be drug-related and that the trio was killed elsewhere. The three likely had been dead at least a week before anyone discovered them.
The woman was likely in her 20s or 30s and at least 5' tall. She was white and had poor teeth. She had been shot twice in the back. One of the men was between 45 and 55 years old, about 5'5'' and between 140 and 160 pounds. He was possibly Hispanic and had black hair and a thick mustache. The letters "DZM" were tattooed on his upper back, along with a tattoo of a coiled snake beside a woman's head. The man was handcuffed and shot in the lower back. The other man could have been between 25 and 40 years old. Investigators listed him as white but said he could have been Hispanic. He was about 5'10 and between 150 and 190 pounds. He had brown hair, a slight overbite and extensive dental work. The pair of handcuffs around his wrist had "Stop" printed above the keyhole.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

August 3
Fort Lauderdale
Investigators at the medical examiner's office call her "Donna" and have devoted more time and effort to her case that they have to any other unidentified person in their records. They think she was between 14 and 17 years old and likely a runaway or a hitchhiker. She was killed when she tried to cross Interstate 95 near State Road 84 and was hit by a tractor-trailer. She had dark blonde to brown hair and brown eyes, was about 5'2'' and weighed 110 pounds. She might have spoken with a Cajun accent. She carried three business cards from Oklahoma City, Canutillo, Texas, and West Monroe, Louisiana, places she apparently traveled through before reaching Fort Lauderdale. Some people there remembered that the teen told them her name was Donna. The medical examiner's office took the drastic step of embalming her body so they could preserve her body for six months, in the hope that someone would come in and tell them her name. No one did.

August 5
Deerfield Beach
The decomposed body of a woman who was likely in her late teens or 20s was found floating in a lake in the 7000 block of Northwest 16th Terrace. She was white, about 5'5'' and weighed about 75 pounds. Cause of death: asphyxia.


Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office and Miramar police


September 4
Hollywood
Two human legs were found inside a10-foot tiger shark hooked by two fisherman in the ocean, about two miles east of Hollywood. When the men reached shore, they cut open the shark and found the legs. Investigators think they belonged to a white man who was between 21 and 35 years old, about 6' tall and weighed about 190 pounds. He wore size 10 1/2 shoes.

November 11
Southwest Ranches
The skeleton of a man who was probably white, about 5'6'' and between 21 and 35 years old was found near Griffin Road and Southwest 156th Avenue. Investigators determined someone had smothered or choked him to death.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

1983

September 13
Pompano Beach
The decomposed body of a white woman was found in the 1800 block of Northeast Fifth Avenue. She was likely in her 20s. Investigators could not determine her cause of death, but they considered the case suspicious because the body was found nude. She had a homemade playboy bunny tattoo on the right side of her abdomen. She wore a gold and blue headband and three small earrings: a three-leaf clover, a horseshoe and a mushroom. She was 5'2'' and 95 pounds when she was found and had a scar on her left wrist. She had likely been dead two days.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

September 19
Western Broward
The skeleton of a teenage girl who had been murdered was found near U. S. 27, about eight miles north of State Road 84. Investigators think she was about 15, but they could not determine exactly how she was killed. There was no clothing near the bones, suggesting that her killer dumped her body nude. Investigators did find a necklace with a small seashell on it. She had auburn hair, was about 5'3'' and likely weighed about 100 pounds. The teen had an overbite and several fillings. She might have used the name Carolyn.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

September 25
Fort Lauderdale
A man blindfolded and gagged himself and then jumped from the top of a 150-foot water tower in the 600 block of Northwest Second Avenue. He was 5'8'' and about 142 pounds. He had brown hair and hazel eyes and likely was in his late 20s or early 30s.

November 25
Lake Worth (unincorporated)
A man who likely was in his 20s or 30s was found dead in a canal in the 2400 block of Waterside Circle. He was white, about 5'9'' and 150 pounds. He had wavy, brown collar-length hair and a beard. He also was missing several teeth. His death was ruled an accidental drowning.


November 26
Boca Raton (unincorporated)
A man's body was found stuck under a chain-link fence in the 7700 block of North Congress Avenue, near the Yamato State Scrub Preserve. He appeared to be in his 20s or 30s. He was about 5'10'' and 160 pounds. He had fractured his arm, and his teeth had several fillings and one crown. The man carried an unusual-looking key and a red comb and wore a Harley-Davidson jacket. Investigators could not determine how he died.

1984

January 8
Pembroke Pines
The burned and decomposed body of a Hispanic man who was shot to death was found in a field in the 600 block of Northwest 184th Avenue. He was between 21 and 35 years old and about 5'6'' and 120 pounds. The man's body was found near where investigators found the body of a 19-year-old Kentucky woman just a day earlier. That woman was identified as Tammy Gale Crider. She, too, had been shot to death. Her death was linked to members of the Outlaws motorcycle gang, but no one was officially charged in her death.

Agency: Pembroke Pines police

February 3
Western Palm Beach County
A skeleton that used to be a white man who likely was in his late teens or late 20s and was found off U. S. 27, near the Palm Beach/Broward county line. He was about 5'8'' and 110 to 130 pounds. He had straight brown hair and recent fractures in his right hand and one of his ribs. He wore dark blue jogging shorts. He died from a blow to the head, and his body had likely been there for about a year before it was discovered.
Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

February 18
Davie
 The body of a white woman who investigators think was between 21 and 35 years old was found floating in a canal in the 2600 block of Southwest 130th Avenue. She was 5'4'' and 120 pounds. She had blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her case was ruled a homicide.

Agency: Davie police

March 17
Weston
The skeleton of a white man who investigators believe was between 21 and 35 years old was found off State Road 84, near what is today Bonaventure Boulevard. He was between 5'1'' and 5'6'' and weighed between 130 and 150 pounds. He had been stabbed several times.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

May 26
Fort Lauderdale
The body of a man who had "Born to Fly" tattooed over a winged horse skull on his left arm and "U. S. Paratroopers" tattooed on his right arm was found floating in the Intracoastal, near the 500 block of Bayshore Drive. The man, who was likely in his 30s, had drowned wearing a tan bathing suit made by "Private Club." He was white, between 5'9'' and 5'10'' and weighed about 165 pounds. He eyes and hair were brown.

June 13
Unknown location
Broward investigators found the body of a white man who was likely in his 30s who had been beaten and shot to death. It was unclear where the body was found. The man, who was about 5'5'' and 120 pounds, had a dark moustache and wore a gold ring with a red stone. He was wearing a knee-length bathrobe when he died.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

July 5
Fort Lauderdale
The body of a white man who was likely 20 to 35 years old was found floating in the Atlantic about 13 miles east of Galt Ocean Drive. His cause of death has not been determined. He was 5'6'', about 140 pounds and had brown hair and brown eyes. He might've been Hispanic. He was in the water for about 24 hours. In that time period, his body could have drifted as far as 96 miles north of where it originated.

August 6
Fort Lauderdale
A man whose right hand had been amputated earlier in his life was found dead in a shed at a mobile home park in the 600 block of East Sunrise Boulevard, in Fort Lauderdale. He had been living in the shed, and neighbors knew him as Chester. He was possibly in his 60s or 70s, was 5'1,'' weighed about 118 pounds and had a scar on his stomach. He died of heart disease.

August 19
Miramar
Two men hunting for snakes in a wooded area in the 17900 block of Bass Creek Road lifted up a mattress and found the skeleton of a murder victim. Investigators determined the skeleton was of a white man who was likely between 40 and 50 years old and between 5'5'' and 5'10.'' He had been slashed several times with a sharp weapon, possibly a machete. His dental work might have been performed in Europe, possibly Germany. Maybe he was a U. S. soldier who had been stationed in Germany, or he could have been a German national visiting the U. S. Near the body investigators found a silver ring with an inscription in German, "Kriegsluck," which translates to "war luck."

Agency: Miramar police

December 12
West Palm Beach
A man's body was found floating in the Intracoastal Waterway, near the 1500 block of Flagler Drive. He was likely in his 20s or 30s, about 5'6'' and 165 pounds. He was clean-shaven and had excellent teeth. His death was ruled an accidental drowning.

Agency: Pembroke Pines

1985

January 13
Greenacres
Investigators uncovered the skeleton of a homicide victim in a shallow grave in a wooded area near Jog Road and Forest Hill Boulevard. The victim was a white man who was likely in his 30s or 40s and about 6' tall. He had several fillings in his teeth. The man likely had been dead five to seven years before his bones were found. He apparently died from a blow to the forehead.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

March 12
Fort Lauderdale
The nude body of a mustached white man was found in a hotel room in the 1200 block of South Federal Highway. He had been asphyxiated. One man was convicted of his murder, but investigators were still unable to identify the victim. They think he might have been from France. He had brown hair and brown eyes, was between 25 and 35 years old, about 5'8'' and weighed about 180 pounds.

Agency: Fort Lauderdale

June 26
Davie
A shoe and sock containing bones were found in a canal in the 13600 block of Southwest Orange Drive. Investigators determined the bones belonged to a man who was between 30 and 50 years old, but they were unable to determine his possible height, weight or cause of death. Divers scoured the canal but did not find any other body parts or bones.

September 29
Fort Lauderdale
A man was found dead of natural causes in the 900 block of Northwest Fifth Court. He was black, between 5'2'' and 5'6'', weighed 126 pounds, and had brown eyes and black hair. He wore green gym shorts.

October 10
West of Boca Raton
The decomposed remains of a white man who was in his 20s or 30s were found in a part of the Hillsboro Canal that flows three miles west of State Road 7, along the Palm Beach/Broward county line. The man was between 5'3'' and 5'5'' and had light brown hair. His cause of death was ruled "undetermined."

1986

March 29
Davie
A man's body was found floating in a canal near State Road 84, just east of Hiatus Road. He had been beaten to death, his body wrapped in a blanket and dumped. He was likely in his 20s, about 5'8'' and weighed about 135 pounds. He had several gold fillings.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

October 12
Pompano Beach
A man who appeared to be in his 30s committed suicide by laying in front of an approaching train in the 3400 block of Dixie Highway. It's possible he was a resident of "The Jungle," a nearby homeless camp that garnered national attention at the time when it was discovered to be home to scores of war veterans. The man was white, about 5'8'' and weighed 143 pounds. He had light brown hair.

November 18
Western Broward
Someone found a skull and bones near the 60-mile marker of Alligator Alley. Investigators determined the bones likely belonged to white woman who was in her 60s. They found evidence that she died of asphyxia. They also found a ring engraved with the initials "YEM."

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

December 9
Lake Worth
A man was killed near 10th Avenue North and Military Trail when he was hit by a car. The man appeared Hispanic and in his 20s or 30s. He was about 5'2'' and 145 pounds. He had black hair, a mustache and brown eyes. He had a patch of skin on his right ankle that was darker from the rest of his body, as a result of hyperpigmentation.
 

1987

February 10
Belle Glade
The body of a man who likely was in his 20s or 30s was found near the corner of West Avenue A and Northwest Sixth Street. The man was white, between 5'9'' and 6'2.'' He had brown, curly hair and carried a folding buck knife. Investigators could not determine how he died.

May 7
West of Boca Raton
The body of a man who likely was in his 20s or 30s was found in a canal along State Road 7 and about a mile north of Kimberly Boulevard. The man was white, about 5'10'' and 145 to 155 pounds. He had black hair, a thin mustache and goatee and brown eyes. He wore a wristwatch made by Helbros and carried two Spanish cassette tapes. Someone shot him in the head.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

August 16
Deerfield Beach
A passerby found the skeleton of a murder victim inside an abandoned shed in the 300 block of North Deerfield Avenue. The shed had been set on fire. Investigators determined the bones were that of a white man who had died of asphyxia. They found a briefcase nearby with papers belonging to a John Foster but investigators had no way of confirming if that was the man's name.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

December 20
Royal Palm Beach
The skeleton of a woman who likely was in her 20s or 30s was found near 130th Avenue and Orange Boulevard. She was white, about 5'1'' to 5'6'' and weighed between 90 and 130 pounds. She had light brown hair. She had eight fillings in her teeth and several cavities. She also had fractured her right clavicle. It's unclear how she died, but the case was ruled a homicide.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

1988

January 19
Weston
The skeletal remains of a white woman who was likely in her late teens or 20's were found near the intersection of Southwest 184th Avenue and State Road 84, what is today Weston. Investigators found a skull and other small bones and determined that the woman was asphyxiated.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

January 31
Jupiter
A man's skeleton was uncovered along Interstate 95, about a mile north of the Indiantown Road exit. He looked to be in his 40s or 50s. The man was white, about 5'8'' and between 150 and 200 pounds. He had curly brown hair and might have had a beard. He had a right shoulder injury, leading investigators to believe that the man might have had a job carrying heavy loads on his back. He wore size 7 sneakers and a shirt that read "Bottle Club and Liquor of Key West." He likely had been dead two weeks before anyone found him. Someone shot him to death.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

March 24
Parkland
Someone found a skull and other bones in a wooded area one mile west of North State Road 7 on the south side of Loxahatchee Road, at the Broward/Palm Beach County line. Investigators determined that the bones belonged to a white man who was likely in his 50s. He died from a head injury, and the case was ruled a homicide.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

June 30
Western Broward
The nude body of a bearded white man was found floating in a canal near the Sawgrass Recreational Area off U. S. 27 and about two miles north of Interstate 595. He had drowned. Investigators found clothes along the canal bank that they think belonged to the man. He was likely in his 30s, about 5'1'' and 142 pounds. He had brown hair.

July 26
Fort Lauderdale
Investigators found the decomposed remains of a woman who likely was in her 40s in a storage bin in the 600 block of Northwest Fifth Avenue. She had been murdered. The woman was black and about 5'1.'' She wore pink clogs.

Agency: Fort Lauderdale police

November 12
Miramar
A fisherman found a man's body floating in the canal about a quarter-mile south of Miramar Parkway and near Southwest 148th Avenue. There was a large rock tied to his waist. The cause of his death was drowning, but investigators could not conclude whether he committed suicide or had been murdered. He was likely in his 20's, about 5'9'' and 155 pounds. He had a scar in the middle of his chest and another on his lower abdomen. His right leg appeared shorter than his left.

Agency: Miramar police

December 1
West Palm Beach
The body of a man who likely was in his 30s or 40s was found in the 4100 block of 13th Street. He was black, about 5'6'' and 120 pounds. He had dark hair and eyes and a mustache. He might have had tuberculosis earlier in life and been homeless.

December 27
Hollywood (unincorporated)
The body of a woman who had a butterfly tattooed onto her pelvic area was found behind a convenience store at 5190 S. State Rd. 7. She had overdosed on cocaine. She was about 5'4'' and 108 pounds. She was white and had shoulder length brown curly hair and grayish brown to hazel eyes. The woman wore a gold ring with a clear stone in it. She wasn't wearing shoes but her feet were clean, making it clear to investigators that she did not walk to the convenience store. Someone dumped her body there.

1989

August 9
Fort Lauderdale
The decomposed remains of a man were found floating about a mile east of Port Everglades. He might was about 5'7'' and might have been white and in his 70s. He had advanced kidney disease and also had a surgical scar on his abdomen. His cause of death was ruled "undetermined.

1990

December 8
Wellington
The skeleton of a man was found in a remote area near Flying Cow Road and MacArthur Dairy Road, near what is today the northwest tip of the village. The man was white, about 5'6'' and between 125 and 145 pounds. He likely was in his 20s or 30s and had brown hair. He had one gold-capped tooth and a crown.

1991

February 22
Hollywood
A man fishing in the ocean, east of Hollywood, reeled in a human skull. Investigators determined the skull could be an artifact, but, just in case, created a file for it at the medical examiner's office. The skull likely belonged to a man who was 30 to 50 years old and possibly Native American.

May 4
West Palm Beach
The body of a woman was found floating about nine miles off shore. She was black and likely had been between 45 and 60 years old. She was 5'6'' and about 110 pounds. She had black hair and brown eyes and wore a string of small white beads around her waist.

October 22
Sunrise
Investigators found a man's skeleton on the south side of the canal along West Oakland Park Boulevard, near Northwest 75th Terrace. The man had been shot to death. Investigators found the bones after a woman called in an anonymous tip. They said the man likely had been dead at least two months. He was probably in his late 20s or early 30s and had a thin build. He wore a burgundy-colored dress shirt, black pants and black shoes marked with "Viking." The man also wore a small medal with a star on it.

 Agency: Sunrise police

May 8
Fort Lauderdale (unincorporated)
Investigators found the body of a black woman who was likely in her 20s or 30s inside the cab of a truck that was parked in the 1000 block of Northwest 31st Avenue, just west of Fort Lauderdale. She was murdered and had been dead several days before someone found her body. The woman was about 5'6'' and weighed about 120 pounds.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

May 17
Lake Worth
A woman's body was found floating in the Atlantic, about 10 miles east of the city. She was white and likely had been in her 30s or 40s. She was 5'6,'' about 125 pounds and had brown hair and eyes. She had a three and a half-inch scar on her lower abdomen.

1992

March 11
Western Broward
Investigators found the decomposed and mutilated body of a black woman who was likely in her late teens or early 20s in a canal along U. S. 27 and south of Griffin Road. She had been decapitated. The woman was between 5' and 5'5'' and about 150 pounds.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

August 11
West Palm Beach
A man's body was found along Okeechobee Boulevard and west of the Turnpike. He was black and about 5'6.'' He likely had been in his 20s or 30s.

November 11
Unknown location
A dog fetched a human skull for its owner. Investigators determined the skull belonged to a black woman who likely was asphyxiated. Records did not incident where the skull was found. Investigators were unable to estimate her possible height, weight or how long she had been dead.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

November 20
Margate
Investigators found the upper portion of a skull tucked into a culvert into the 6300 block of Northwest 11th Street. They determined that the woman died after being hit on the head. She was likely between 5'3'' and 5'6," but investigators could not tell what her hair and eye color might have been.

Agency: Margate police

December 14
Dania Beach
A man who tried to walk across Interstate 595, near U. S. 1, was struck by a car. The victim was black, 5'6'' and about 145 pounds. He had graying black hair.

1993

April 13
Riviera Beach
The skeleton of a man was uncovered along a stretch of Blue Heron Boulevard, west of the Turnpike. He likely had been dead at least three years before anyone found the bones. The man likely was bi-racial. He could have been in his 20s or 30s, about 5'6'' and 140 to 190 pounds. He wore a Hamilton wristwatch.

May 4
Pompano Beach
The body of a man who likely was in his 30s was found floating in an inner tube off the coast of Boca Raton. The Coast Guard brought his body to its Pompano Beach station. He was likely a Cuban rafter. He carried a plastic bag with a note inside that listed the names and address of several people in South Florida, but investigators were unable to reach the people on the list. The man was 5'3'' and 116 pounds. He died of dehydration.

August 19
Boca Raton
A woman's dismembered body was found in a lake in the 6400 block of Rogers Circle, a warehouse park south of Clint Moore Road. The woman was of mixed race and likely had been in her 20s or 30s. She was about 5'5'' and 5'9'' and had brown hair and eyes. She had stretch marks on her abdomen and two holes pierced in each ear. The case was ruled a homicide, but investigators were unable to determine exactly how she died.

Agency: Boca Raton police

August 28
Western Palm Beach County
The skeleton of a young woman was found under thick underbrush inside the Holey Land Wildlife Management Area, in the southwest corner of the county. She was 5'1'' and 100 pounds and likely was in her teen years. She had abnormal back bones that might have caused her pain. She likely had been dead a year or two before her bones were found. It's unclear how she died, but the case was ruled a homicide.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office


October 24
Hollywood
A woman's body was found floating about four miles east of Hollywood. She was believed to be a Cuban rafter who drowned. She was 5'1'' and about 90 pounds.

October 25
Royal Palm Beach
A man's skeleton was found floating in a canal along State Road 7. He was white and likely had been in his 20s or 30s. He had long brown hair and his right leg was shorter than his left. Investigators found evidence that he had healed earlier in his life from a dislocated shoulder, a broken nose and injuries to his ribs and lower back. His body likely had been there at least a month. He died from a head injury, and the case was ruled a homicide.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
 

December 25
Oakland Park
A fisherman reeled in a human skull while fishing along the canal bank in the 2400 block of Northwest 39th Street. The skull likely belonged to a white man who was between 30 and 50 years old. Investigators could not determine how long the skull had been underwater.

1994

February 21
Western Broward
A man's body was found floating in a canal off U. S. 27, just north of the Miami-Dade/Broward county line. The man, who had drowned, carried a piece of paper with a number on it, but when investigators called the number a person who picked up the phone denied knowing the man. He was black and possibly in his 30s. He might have been homeless.

October 25
Lantana
A man's body was found floating in a canal near the intersection of Lantana Road and Lyons Road. He was white and likely in his 20s or 30s. He was about 5' tall and had shoulder-length black hair. He wore a blue homemade necklace. He had been dead several days.

1995

February 17
Riviera Beach
The body of a Hispanic man was found in the 1800 block of Blue Heron Boulevard. The man likely had been in his 30s or 40s. He was about 5'6'' and weighed 130 pounds. He had several tattoos, including an eagle on his chest and a woman's head on his thigh. He wore dentures.

December 29
West Boynton
A man was killed when he tried to cross State Road 7 near Boynton Beach Boulevard. He appeared Hispanic and in his 20s or 30s. He was about 5'3'' and 130 pounds. The man had black hair, a mustache and brown eyes. He had a scar on his chest. Some people knew him as "Guerrero."

1996

January 2
Riviera Beach
The skeleton of a gray-haired man was found near Interstate 95 and Blue Heron Boulevard. He was white, about 5'8'' and 150 to 200 pounds. He had lost most of his teeth and apparently did not use dentures. The man also appeared to have had surgery to his lower back at one time. He carried two keys on a metal ring with a white plastic tag marked "Love." One of the keys was for a post office box. He likely had been dead six to eight months before his bones were found.

March 29
Davie
A man in his 30s or 40s was killed when he tried to walk across Interstate 75, about a half-mile north of Griffin Road. The man was dark-skinned, but investigators could not determine his race. He was 5'6'' and about 185 pounds.

April 5
Fort Lauderdale
A homeless woman who had no teeth but wore dentures was found dead from acute alcoholic intoxication in the 1000 block of Northwest 16th Avenue. She was white, between 5' and 5'5,'' about 110 pounds and likely was in her 40s. She had a C-section scar.

May 23
Clewiston
A 2-month old baby girl was found dead near the Palm Beach/Hendry county line. She weighed about six pounds and had been wrapped in a blanker. She was white or Hispanic, had dark hair and weighed about six pounds. Investigators could not determine how the baby died.

June 12
West Palm Beach (unincorporated)
A man's body was found in a wooded area near a canal off Beeline Highway. He was white, about 5'6'' and 155 to 135 pounds. He had brown hair and likely was in his 30s or 40s. Investigators could not determine how he died.

August 2
Dania Beach
The mutilated body of a young man was found floating in a lake in the 3500 block of Southwest 29th Avenue. He was likely in his 20s and either white or Hispanic. He was between 5'2'' and 5'7'' and had a scar on his right knee. The case was ruled a homicide, but investigators could not determine exactly how he was killed.

November 27
Boca Raton
The body of a white woman was found in the 3800 block of North Ocean Boulevard, at Spanish River Park. She was white and had short brown hair and blue eyes. She was about 5'6,'' 175 pounds and likely was in her 20s ors 30s. She had acne scars on her face. It's possible her name was Joy Neubauer, but investigators have been unable to confirm that.

1997

September 30
Dania Beach
The remains of an elderly man who hung himself from a tree were found in a wooded area in the 3500 block of U. S. 1, near the Interstate 595 ramp. Investigators found a suicide note where the man said he could no longer afford his medication. The man was white, 5'5'' to 6' and likely in his 70s or 80s.

1998

February 22
Plantation
The skeletonized remains of what likely used to be a black man were found in the 5400 block of West Broward Boulevard. He apparently died in a shed behind a house, where the owner told investigators she often had to chase away homeless people who were sleeping on her property. Investigators were unable to determine the man's cause of death.

April 22
Deerfield Beach
Bones that likely belonged to a woman were found in a field in the 300 block of Northwest 45th Avenue.

September 23
Loxahatchee
The body of a man who was about 6'3'' tall was found along Seminole Pratt Whitney Road and close to three miles north of North Lake Boulevard. He was white and had brown hair. He likely was in his 40s or 50s. He wore a Timex "Indiglo" watch with a plastic band. Someone shot him to death.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

December 19
Western Broward
Boaters found a woman's body floating near a boat ramp west of U. S. 27 and about two miles south of Interstate 75. Investigators said she had been murdered but could not determine exactly how she died. The woman was white, in her 30s or 40s and wore red sneakers and a Team Sports T-shirt. She recently had surgery to remove a cyst.

Agency: Broward Sheriff's Office

1999

March 27
Gulf Stream
A man's body was found floating in the Intracoastal Waterway, near Little Club Road, east of Boynton Beach. He was black, about 5'9'' and 150 pounds. He likely was in his 20s or 30s and had black, curly hair and brown eyes. He had a tattoo, possibly homemade, on his left upper arm of a heart with a sword or dagger going through it. Cause of death: drowning.

May 23
West of Boynton Beach
A woman's body was found in a canal along State Road 7 and a half-mile south of Boynton Beach Boulevard. She was white, about 5'4'' and likely had been in her 20s or 30s. She wore size 7 sneakers. She died from a blow to the head, likely from a hit and run, about a month before her body was found.

July 23
West Palm Beach
A man who had several surgeries in his lifetime was found dead in the 1800 block of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. He was white, likely between 45 and 60 years old, and about 5'6.'' He had gray hair. Investigators found that he had several healed fractures in his ribs, hands, feet and face. They also found surgical wires in his sternum and two pins in his right ankle. The man had no upper teeth and was missing most of his lower teeth.

2000

No date
Pompano Beach
A man died in from smoke inhalation and burns he suffered in a fire in the 2000 block of North Dixie Highway. Investigators have an idea of who the man is, but no one has been able to provide dental records or other records that could confirm his identity.

November 11
Lake Worth
A man's body was found in the 3700 block of South Military Trail. He was Hispanic and about 5'6'' and 213 pounds. He had black collar-length hair, a mustache and brown eyes.

November 21
West of Boca Raton
A man's body was found floating in a canal along State Road 7 and just north of Clint Moore Road. He was likely in his 20s or 30s and might have been Hispanic. He was about 5'3'' and 110 pounds. He had dark hair and brown eyes. His dental work likely was done in an under-developed country and included a right front tooth that was capped with a silver star.

2001

July 17
Coral Springs
A city-contracted cleaning crew found several human bones while clearing out a pipe that feeds into a canal in the 11400 block of Riverside Drive. Investigators determined the bones likely belonged to a black man who was in his 20s or 30s. He had crowns on two of his lower molars. Investigators could not determine how long the bones had been there.

November 24
Lake Worth
A Hispanic man was found dead near the railroad tracks at Lake Avenue and Fourth Avenue South. He was about 5'6'' and 170 pounds. He had black hair and brown eyes and "NW" tattooed on the back of his left hand.

2002

April 9
Palm Beach Gardens
A man walking along Interstate 95, south of the PGA Boulevard exit, was killed when he was hit by a truck. He could have been between 45 and 60 years old. He was white, about 5'6'' and 133 pounds. He had light brown hair, a moustache and a beard and was balding. His eyes were blue.

June 12
Tequesta
Someone found a portion of a skull at Coral Cove Park. Investigators could only determine it that likely was from a man who was about 5'6.''

August 1
Boynton Beach
A man who had no teeth but wore full dentures was found dead in the 2800 block of High Ridge Road. He was white and about 5'6.'' He likely was in his 40s, 50s or 60s and wore Fila sneakers.

November 9
The Acreage
The body of a young woman was found in the 300 block of Tangerine Drive. She was white and between 5'2'' and 5'4.''She had dark brown, shoulder-length straight hair. She also had extensive dental work and wore two rings. One was of flat metal with hearts on it, and the second had a yellow stone in it. She wore a black camisole with the label "Venus" and a gray pullover tank top labeled "RPL." The woman was a heavy smoker.

December 14
Hollywood
A white man who was likely in his 30s or 40s was killed after being hit by a train. He was between 5'7'' and 5'9'' and had brown hair and brown eyes.

2003

January 7
June Beach
The body of a woman who likely was in her 20s or 30s was found floating in the Intracoastal Waterway, near the FPL plant. She was black, about 5'6'' and 125 pounds. Her hair was black and her eyes were dark. She had scars on her right bicep, left elbow and left wrist and a cyst on her left ear lobe. She wore a gray metal bracelet. She had drowned.

March 19
Hallandale Beach
The body of a white man who was in his 50s or 60s was found floating in the ocean about three miles off the coast, near the Miami-Dade/Broward county line. He wore a Seiko watch with a gold band and was about 5'10'' and 215 pounds. His cause of death was ruled "undetermined."

April 28
Fort Lauderdale
Investigators found the body of a woman who likely was in her 40s who had committed suicide. She was white, had brown hair and was between 5'5'' and 5'7.'' She weighed about 140 pounds.

April 30
Fort Lauderdale
The remains of a white woman who was likely in her 40s or 50s were found in a parking lot in the 1900 block of Karen Drive. She had overdosed on propoxyphene, a prescription pain killer. She was about 5'7''and 140 pounds.

August 9
Lauderdale Lakes
The body of a man who presumably drowned was found floating on the north side of a canal in the 3900 block of Northwest 35th Avenue. Investigators were unable to determine what he might have looked like or how he died. When they found him, he was 5'5'' and weighed 124 pounds.

September 7
Ocean Ridge
The body of a red-headed man was found floating about five miles east of the Boynton Inlet. The man was white and looked to be in his 60s or 70s. He was 5'7'' and about 160 pounds. He had an old tattoo that looked like an anchor and could have been a Navy tattoo. He had a 12-inch scar and a three-inch scar on his stomach and a 12-inch scar on his left shoulder blade.

October 31
Hollywood (unincorporated)
Maintenance workers clearing weeds at a county waste disposal facility near Orange Drive and South State Road 7 found the mummified remains of a man who had been living on the property in a homemade shed. He was about 5'5." Investigators could not determine his cause of death.

December 27
Fort Lauderdale
A homeless man died from injuries he suffered in a fall. His body was found near an abandoned dealership in the 900 block of East Sunrise Boulevard. He was white, had gray hair and was about 5'8'' and 160 pounds. He likely was in his 40s. He wore a Timex watch with a brown band.

2004

June 22
West Palm Beach
A man's body was found in the 2500 block of Westgate Avenue. He was Hispanic, about 5'6'' and 130 pounds. He had black hair and a mustache and likely was in his 20s or 30s. He had a small scar on his right buttock.

August 8
Riviera Beach
A woman's body was found in the first block of Cheney Way. She was black and likely in her early 20s to early 30s. She had brown hair and eyes, was about 5'6'' and weighed 100 pounds. She had a six-inch scar on her lower abdomen from a gallbladder operation, a seven-inch scar near her belly, a five-inch scar on her lower abdomen and two smaller scars near her belly button.

November 20
Near Belle Glade
A man who likely was in his 20s or 30s was found floating in a canal along 20-mile bend, near the western edge of the city. He was black, taller than 6' and about 180 pounds. He had brown eyes and short, dark brown hair, with a thin mustache and short beard. He had a one and a half-inch scar on his right index finger and a vertical scar on his forehead. He wore a necklace made of black and white beads. He was beaten to death.
Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
 

2005

January 24
Miramar
The body of a woman who died of hypothermia was found in a parking lot in the 6500 block of Pembroke Road. Investigators suspect she might have been a recent immigrant from Haiti or that she was homeless. She was black, about 5'4,'' 135 pounds and likely in her 40s. She had brown eyes and black hair.

April 18
Western Palm Beach County
Someone killed a woman, wrapped her body in plastic, stuffed it inside a blue box and left it on the side of U. S. 27, just north of the Broward/Palm Beach county line. The woman could have been between 40 and 60 years old. She was white, about 5' tall and 130 pounds. She had sandy brown, graying straight hair that went just past her ears and wore red nail police. She had a gap between her two front teeth and several gold fillings. The woman's right breast was removed in a masectomy, leading investigators to believe that she recently underwent medical treatment for cancer. The woman also had bunions on her feet and a scar on her belly. Investigators found no signs of trauma to the body but ruled the case a homicide.

Agency: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

July 10
Fort Lauderdale
The body of a white man who could have been in his 30s, 40s, or even 50s was found floating off the jetty at the marine entrance to Port Everglades. He was wearing a hand-stitched speedo-style bathing suit. He was white, about 5'6,'' 115 pounds and had black hair.

November 11
Lake Worth
The body of a man who apparently drowned was found floating in a retention pond along Lake Worth Road and east of Congress Avenue. He was white, about 5'6'' and 155 pounds. He had black hair, brown eyes. The man also had a three-inch horizontal scar on his right forearm and two small scars on his left wrist.

December 16
Plantation A set of bones were found in a drainage pipe in the 4500 block of West Sunrise Boulevard. Investigators determined the bones were likely that of a man in his 30s or 40s, possibly of Vietnamese heritage or another minority. They could not figure out how he died.

December 30
Pompano Beach
A fisherman found a foot floating one mile south of the city pier. Investigators determined it likely belonged to an adult man but were unable to determine how the foot was separated from his body.

Some agencies and missing person advocacy groups are listing unidentified bodies on the Internet, a growing trend that has helped close dozens of Florida cases.
The Florida Unidentified Decedents Database
www.fluiddb.com
The Doe Network
www.doenetwork.us
The North American Missing Persons Network
http://nampn.doenetwork.us/
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
www.missingkids.com
Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel




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katiekatie2u
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« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2008, 06:24:05 PM »

I have been reading .. where men and women adult .. young and old ... have disappeared in broad daylight..
never to be seen or heard from again.. I just dont get it.. in broad daylight!!!
I m  not talking  talking whimps.. some of the men looked like they could hold their own.. so how is this possible...
baffles me to death
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Nut44x4
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RIP Grumpy Cat :( I will miss you.


« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2009, 07:54:22 PM »

Skeleton keys..........
Forensic anthropology professors help local police stations debunk cases

Published: April 27, 2009
Dr. Norm Sauer describes forensic anthropology in simple terms. “Most of the work that we do is looking at bones,” he said. However, the value from the supposedly simple work Sauer and fellow forensic anthropologist Dr. Todd Fenton do in their fourth floor East Fee Hall laboratory is invaluable to the various law enforcement agencies they assist.

Working independently and together for more than 30 years, Sauer and Fenton have made MSU a national leader in forensic anthropology. In dozens of cases per year, Sauer and Fenton have become go-to guys for police investigators who need help identifying bodies.

“One of my favorite parts (of being in forensic anthropology) is working with law enforcement,” Fenton said. “It gets us working with different entities in the real world.”

Cold case

Most recently, the two assisted in re-opening a 27-year-old cold case in Monroe County. The body of an unidentified woman was found on March 31, 1982, after washing up on the shore of Lake Erie near the Monroe County Power Plant.

After nearly three decades, investigators from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department this year exhumed the body to compare the remains to a possible murder victim in Canton Township, whose remains were never found.

Michigan State police Trooper Sarah Krebs recommended the body be sent to Sauer and Fenton’s lab to perform a facial reconstruction. Krebs, a former student of Sauer’s and an MSU alumna, said she always refers to Sauer and Fenton to help with reconstructions.

“Every time we have a skeletal case, we use MSU,” Krebs said. “They’re the leading department for anthropology in the state and the whole country.”

Det. Jeff Pauli, the lead Monroe County Sheriff’s detective on the case, said investigators have received between 20 and 30 tips since the public release of the facial reconstruction.

“It’s critical — there’s no way law enforcement could fund this by themselves,” Pauli said. “We rely on universities to study for us.”

He said Sauer and Fenton’s findings — putting the victim’s age between 20 and 30 years old, height between 4-feet-10 and 5-feet-4 inches tall, weight at approximately 110 pounds and blood type of type O — have helped investigators verify much of what was found in the original autopsy. The importance of these findings could not be understated, Pauli said.

“It confirms the autopsy, but when you’re digging up an old case it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Pauli said. “Once you get bones out of the ground, you can only do it once and you don’t want to do it again.”

Train the next generation

Sauer has worked on forensic anthropology at MSU since the mid-1970s, including helping law enforcement with various police investigations. Fenton joined Sauer at MSU 10 years ago and pointed to their friendly relationship as a reason for their success.

“What I enjoy is having a case I may be the lead on and I try to work on it and involve students,” Fenton said. “But, when it comes down to it and when I start to write up results, I bring in Norm and say, ‘What do you think?’”

Dr. Bob Hitchcock, director of MSU’s Department of Anthropology, said Sauer and Fenton’s work gives the university more of a presence in the community.

“This is where anthropology is going, as well, doing real-world work,” Hitchcock said. “It’s practical and useful.”

Sauer and Fenton include their graduate students in all of their cases.

“One of our goals here is to train the next generation of forensic anthropologists,” Fenton said. “We think it’s important they get that experience with cases so when they’re finished with their Ph.D, they have the training necessary to go and do case work in their next job.”

Hitchcock said students working with Sauer and Fenton have multilayered experience when they’re done working with the professors.

“One, they’re learning the technique — not just analysis, but how to prepare cases to be used by lawyers in legal cases, police departments and the FBI,” Hitchcock said. “But also, those kinds of techniques are useful for their own research, not necessarily related to murders or other death situations.”

Constant evolution

Fenton and Sauer’s original training from the mid-1970s essentially has been made obsolete by advances in the field since their college days. Fenton said the evolution of forensic anthropology from simply “looking at bones,” as Sauer said, to analyzing trauma and flesh remains has caused him and colleagues to train themselves on the fly.

“The contributions a forensic anthropologist can make to a medical examiner has really changed,” Fenton said. “Trauma is an area continuing to push the frontiers of science ahead and it’s going to be a real growth area.”

Sauer said many of the new techniques he’s learned at MSU came through teaching students.

He said developments such as superimposition — the process of placing a photograph of a deceased person over a computer image of unidentified bones to identify the remains — push him and Fenton to continuously expand their knowledge.

“We’ve had to learn how to use all that stuff and develop a theory behind it,” Sauer said.

“We’ve had to learn a lot of new stuff in the last few years.”

http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2009/04/skeleton_keys
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Nut44x4
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RIP Grumpy Cat :( I will miss you.


« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2009, 10:19:03 PM »

Daily Camera (Boulder, Colorado)
 
August 9, 2009 Sunday
 
Missing and unidentified need our help

The U.S. Justice Department calls the plight of the missing and unidentified dead "the nation's silent mass disaster." Where are the missing, and who are the dead? In the hopes that someone will come forward with a tip, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office is releasing information on its cold missing-persons cases. "Someone may have a clue, and if so, we'd certainly like to hear from them," said Division Chief Phil West in a recent interview.

In a notebook in West's office are all the known facts about the disappearance of Jon Truscott Haynes. In 1981, the 18-year-old graduated from high school in Orinda, Calif. As a graduation present, his father gave him a brand new beige Subaru hatchback.

Haynes had been accepted at the University of Colorado and arrived in Boulder on July 22. He picked up a hitchhiker who was later interviewed by Sheriff's detectives, and he spent his first night at the KOA Kampground, then located in Boulder.

The next day, Haynes called home and asked his father for money and promising to keep in touch. On July 24, he called a friend from a pay phone in Nederland, in the mountains west of Boulder. That friend -- 28 years ago -- was the last person to talk with the missing man.

On July 26, a Sheriff's deputy and a Nederland deputy marshal saw Haynes' Subaru parked near the community. The following day, the Subaru was gone. Haynes was officially reported missing on August 10. According to Camera accounts from the time, Haynes' father was convinced that his son was murdered near Nederland. In 1983, Haynes was declared legally dead, and his car has never been found.

Another missing person still on the books is the Rev. Rex L. Douglas, former pastor of the Old Stone Congregational Church in Lyons. His wife last heard from her then-61-year-old husband in January 1984. He had called her while on a business trip to Missouri, explaining that he would be spending a few days in Kansas City, but he never boarded a return flight to Denver.

Mark Allen Bonner, 24, disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 1978 while house-sitting at a residence on Neva Road, north of Boulder. Investigation at the time implicated him in drug trafficking; whether his disappearance was voluntary or involuntary has never been established.

In 2005, Alzheimer's patient Fred Dingler, 82, left his Boulder home in his car, without explanation or notification to his family. His vehicle was found several weeks later near Hanna, Wyoming, but Dingler, like the others, has never been found.

The Sheriff's Office also would appreciate any leads on the identities of the remains of three adult males, all thought to have been transients. In October 1993, hikers found a 30- to 35-year-old black male on the north side of the second Flatiron. The following month, the badly decomposed remains of a 26- to 30-year-old Caucasian male with a beard, brown shoulder-length hair, and a large hooked nose were found near Gregory Canyon. Then, in August 2002, skeletal remains of a 16- to 21-year-old Hispanic male were discovered behind the Silver Saddle Motel at the mouth of Boulder Canyon.

Anyone with information on these cases is asked to call West at 303-441-3621.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:1019851123&start=6
« Last Edit: August 09, 2009, 10:21:53 PM by Nut44x4 » Logged

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