The Search for "Fred": An Unusual Vertical Burial Case.
J Forensic Sci
; 64(5): 1530-1539, 2019 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30802952
ABSTRACT
Police witness intelligence stated a murdered adult male "Fred" had been vertically buried in wooded hilly terrain 30 years ago in the Midlands, U.K. Conventional search methods were unsuccessful; therefore, the police requested a geophysical investigation to be undertaken to determine whether "Fred" could be detected. A multiphased geophysical approach was conducted, using bulk ground conductivity and metal detectors, then follow-up magnetics and ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey profiles on electromagnetic (EM) anomalous areas. A tight grid pattern was used to account for the reduced target size. Relatively high-resolution EM and GPR techniques were determined optimal for this terrain and sandy soil. Geophysical anomalies were identified and the most promising intrusively investigated, and this was found to be a large boulder and tree roots. Study implications suggest careful multiphase geophysical surveys are best practice and give confidence in cold case searches. This study yielded a no-body result, effectively saving police time and costs from further investigations.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Sepultamento
/
Ciências Forenses
Tipo de estudo:
Guideline
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Forensic Sci
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido