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This is ridiculous!! How can we compare anything?? Don't they want people identified? This is counterproductive. So frustrating!!
 
I seem to have found a Mexican version of NamUs: http://www.pgr.gob.mx/SPDA/search/opera_consulta.asp

That link isn't to the home page, but I think you can figure it out from there.
There are some people whose last known location or destination was in the United States. So just in case these match any cases you are currently working (they don't appear to be in NamUs):

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Angelica Maria Carlas Hernandez - last seen 1/20/11 - she was driving to Virginia.

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Dawnell Forrest left Tukwila, WA in November, 2000. It is possible she is actually in Mexico.

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Eva Edith Gonzalez Martinez last known to be in El Paso, Texas in August, 2003.

These are some examples. I didn't include some who are listed on the page who I have been able to tie to custodial interference cases - they may still be legitimately missing/wanted, but chances are low they are among our unidentified I'm thinking. Of course, some of the other missing may unknowingly be in America even though they are listed as last seen in Mexico. Most no, but some maybe.

ETA: One of the cases listed on the site appears to have been resolved in 2010? Hopefully that is not a sign that these are not kept diligently updated, I don't know.

http://www.examiner.com/article/missing-woman-reportedly-suicidal-sought-by-deputies
 
Not sure where to ask this but i'm trying to find a listing for an unidentified victim and am not having luck finding him. Maybe he's been identified or I'm not typing in the right key words.

The only things I can remember about the UID is he was a male, very tall (6'6-6'9) and I believe he was found on a beach (drowned?) I also think he had swim shorts on too. Is this ringing a bell to anyone?
 
Not sure where to ask this but i'm trying to find a listing for an unidentified victim and am not having luck finding him. Maybe he's been identified or I'm not typing in the right key words.

The only things I can remember about the UID is he was a male, very tall (6'6-6'9) and I believe he was found on a beach (drowned?) I also think he had swim shorts on too. Is this ringing a bell to anyone?

Here's your guy.

FL FL - Miami Beach, WhtMale (UP6736), 25-35, 6'7" & 350 lbs Drowned in Ocean, Dec'09
 
I'm not a huge fan of reconstructions or composites - particularly with regard to skeletal remains. I'd like to hear the opinions of others on this subject.
 
I think it's a good guideline to go by knowing that there's room for error, I wouldn't rule a person out if they didn't match it exactly.
 

We are going to have a forum software upgrade very soon. The forum will look very different. Follow the "forum" tab on the new site and you'll be able to find your way again. If there are delays in access to the forum, I will write about them on my Twitter.

We will be making forum decor changes after the upgrade, but it's going to look pretty strange before we have the time to make those changes happen. Excuse our dust ~ but most of all, enjoy the new digs!!!
 
Do not rule out potential matches based on whether dentals are available in NamUs. I emailed questions@identifyus.org this morning about NamUs and dental records, and found out that there isn't a routine cross-checking system like we previously thought. This is the reply I got:

Hi Samantha,

The system is capable of developing possible matches. But the comparisons and exclusions are manually completed. Dental records and fingerprints can sometimes be difficult to review without the help of a subject matter expert.

We have been working to develop tools that will help streamline the process of comparison / exclusion.

The best way it can work now - an investigator can see the list of possibilities and go down the list using biometric comparison to exclude in a process of elimination.

So, when looking for potential matches, DO NOT rule out based simply on whether fingerprints, dentals and/or DNA are in the system. If you happen to remember any cases where a PM looked very strong but who you ruled out based on that, I highly suggest you go back and review/submit those. Same with any 'pet' cases.
 
Is it accurate though that when DNA is on file, that either type is enough to flag a possible match but specific type must be available for positive identification? We are eliminating dozens of possibilities based on DNA on file in Smurfette's thread.

Also, I'm reminded of the 2 Jane Does in the TX killing fields thread that have had "DNA submitted - Tests completed" on their NamUs profiles since inception of NamUs but that was not true.
 
There are two primary DNA databases were UID's are compared to MP's (or MP Family Reference Samples) - One is CODIS, which is run by the FBI, and the other is within the NamUs system. There are other state and private DNA databases, but they don't do comprehensive nationwide comparisons.

NamUs is run by the University of North Texas. So when a MP's DNA profile says "Sample Submitted - Tests Complete", I am pretty certain that the MP's DNA profile is at least in NamUs, although I am not so certain that that the sample is also in CODIS. CODIS will not accept samples from private labs, such as Bode Laboratories. Somewhere I've also heard that CODIS deals only with MP's who are thought to be victims of foul play. IIRC, if a person is missing as a result of circumstances, such as natural disaster, an accident, runaway or family abandonment, the person is not entered in CODIS. Also, from what I've heard, some state DNA databases automatically upload their MP DNA data to CODIS, and others don't.

But my understanding is that if the MP's DNA section in NamUs says Sample Submitted - Tests Complete, it at least is in NamUs for automated comparison.

I should add that an MP may have Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), or Nuclear DNA (nucDNA, sometimes referred to as STR), or both, depending on whether the familial contributors are mtDNA compatible (i.e., related by way of the maternal ancestral line) and also depending on how many Family Reference Samples are submitted. I've heard that NamUs and CODIS will not compare nucDNA based on only a single FRS.

So it may not be sufficient for both the MP and UID to have DNA in the system. The MP and UID need to both have the same type of DNA in the system, and if both have nucDNA, but one side does not have mtDNA, then there must be more than one FRS for the MP.

Or at least that's the way I understand it.

This may answer my question, but I'm getting conflicting info in that thread. I think. Maybe it's because Smurfette has both that we can eliminate if the MP has either DNA on file?
 
How does one help out finding lost ones? Any coaches available? :)
 
http://how-old.net/
Microsoft has a new age-guessing app and my first thought was how it could be used for unidentified and missing persons. Maybe postmortem photos and reconstructions can be run through it to give a precise age estimate, and age progressions/regressions can be checked for accuracy? Of course, it doesn't always guess close to the right age though.
 
I seem to remember reading about a very tall unidentified male a few years ago. I think he was about 6' 9". If I remember correctly, he was found in a body of water-maybe Lake Michigan? Does this sound familiar to anyone? I saw a post on Facebook recently where someone is looking for her 6' 7" brother who hasn't been seen in years.
 
Apologies if this is the wrong place, but I'm very confused. How do you submit new entries? There is an unidentified woman who's killed her child and then herself by stepping into a burning SUV. It happened in LA and I've got a link, but I've got no idea where I'd put the link or who I submit my link to so that they may create a post on them? They are still unidentified, as they've been since the incident happened. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/woman-719691-child-fire.html
Again, sorry if I've posted in the wrong place. Thank you.
 

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