RESEARCH BLOG.

Many forensic anthropology and disaster victim identification texts reduce search to a single procedural step: “Search for remains or evidence.” The brevity implies that searching is straightforward when, in reality, outdoor searches involve dynamic environments, changing remains, and complex assumptions about how bodies behave after death. Simplistic thinking about searching can cause increases in time, money, and manpower expenditures. It can also lead to poor results for t

The public has been privy to live footage of police operations. New South Wales police, dressed in overalls, scoured dense bushland to retrieve a small piece of fabric. Reports suggested the yet-to-be analysed fabric may be linked to the case of missing boy William Tyrrell. William’s case – along with the location of Cleo Smith in Western Australia and recent developments in the case of missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay in Victoria – have been prominent news stories

As some children/youth do, sometimes without much thought, I would run away from home. These bouts of running off were not rebellious, but were, at times, moments when I was overwhelmed by my home environment or, in one case that I can recall, when I wanted to go swimming at the local swimming pool, even when that trek involved crossing the highway. In hindsight, I consider it fortunate that a neighbour found me stuck in a wrought-iron fence alive and well, though not surpris

The field of missing persons contains many myths. Why, you may ask? First, missing person cases are often discussed in the context of serial murders, vanishings, mystery, and crime in the public sphere. This has been the result of, and has led to the creation of, many podcasts , web sleuths, and true crime shows. One can imagine that these do not always involve credible and verified information. Yet, these sources are some of the most consumed forms of content in Canada and