NEW Tips before submitting

[christine2448]

Tips before submitting
1. Make sure not already ruled out/submitted.

2. Post up vital stats, all listed/poster info for UID and missing person side by side. (date missing/date found, height, weight, eyes, hair, circumstances, belongings, ect)

3. Line up pics side by side.

4. Find out everything you can on the UID/Missing Person from web/news. Compare information.

5. Get advice and input from other sleuthers.

6. Make sure another Wser doesn't have LE contact in this case, we don't want 50 different people calling in matches.

7. Call LE/ME on both sides, missing/UID and see what info they are willing do disclose.

8. Get advice input from other sleuthers with new/or no info.

9. Submit

Please feel free to add YOUR tips. I am learning as I go!

 

[christine2448]

Copied from another case, this is a good example, thanks Debbie!

First thing you want to do is call about the UID and see if she has the same medical listings as are for Billy Jean Hall. Here is what I say when I call: I first ask to speak to someone who handles missing and unidentified person cases (whichever I am inquiring about) Hello, My name is ____ and I search the internet for missing and unidentified persons in my free time. I am calling today in regards to an UID that is listed with your agency, ____ (give the date of discovery for UID's or the name of the missing person along with the date of disappearance. Then you will want to ask if this uid has any of the medical issues listed with Billy Jean's case. You may be asked "what agency you are with " you are just a volunteer and you can mention you are involved with Websleuths.
If it turns out this uid has similar medical listings, then you go forward with " I have a possible match that I would like you to take a look at" I always have the case # , the whole case actually infront of me when I call. You'll need to give them the contact info for the comparing case.

 

[Danaya]

How long does it usually take for LE to get back regarding an UID? I e-mailed the detective about 3 weeks ago with a few matches.

 

[christine2448]

How long does it usually take for LE to get back regarding an UID? I e-mailed the detective about 3 weeks ago with a few matches.

Depends on LE. They don't call me "The Nag" fer nothin'

Keep calling. Sometimes you have to ask for someone else if you don't get a response. I usually give 7 days then check in. I also try and get an email address. I find they like that way of communicating. I can send pictures and links, docs, etc.

 

[christine2448]

I want to say it is so important to make 1 phone call to LE when researching the case to see what you can get from them. The most important thing for us is do they have Dentals? DNA in CODIS? Scars, surgeries, piercings, tattoos & mental disabilities, drug habits, ummmm what else??

A list of RULE OUTS is extremely important to get right away.

What else am I missing?

 

[Danaya]

Done.

I e-mailed the lead detective again and hope to hear from her. I mean I know it takes time to look into possible matches but still, this is a victim that needs to be identified! I'm working on a suicide victim who is unidentified to this day.

 

[christine2448]

Copied from a post authored by believe09 in a current UID case:

FWIW-Submitting something based primarily on appearance can be tricky. If I have a likely match, I contact LE for the Missing Case and see what additional information might be in the file; if there are prints, photos, dentals, DNA and where they are entered. For example-are the missing persons prints in AFIS? Do I know if the UID's prints are in AFIS? If they both are, then clearly it is not a match. Is the DNA for both in CODIS? If yes, then clearly they are not a match. Is there a tattoo, piercing or scar not mentioned on the websites I have visited?

If the match still seems compelling, post it for fellow sleuthers in the thread and ask their opinion regarding any additional information found-a consensus is always a good thing. If the consensus is that it is likely, then I usually reach out to the detective in the Missing Persons case regarding the UID, explaining the reasons I think it is compelling. They will decide themselves, and typically reach out to the ME for the UID.

 

[Danaya]

The detective e-mailed me back and said she hasn't gotten around to it. It's been nearly two months, maybe she didn't think it was a good match. I didn't post them here but they were in a thread here. It kind of upsets me that she didn't check I mean, they ask for tips and when I try to give one... two months and no checking? Whatever. :waitasec:

 

[Cubby]

originally posted by not my kids copied here for the tips before submitting thread.

Matching Tips and tricks.
Hi. Most of you don't know me from Adam, but I've been doing Does and un-ID'ed for a few years now and I thought i would pass along some of the things that I have learned.
If anyone else has something that I don't know, please feel free to add to it.
I see some confusion sometimes and I really thought this might help.

1. I have learned with hair color doesn't mean much in the Everglades region. There are enzymes in the Everglades that can cause brunette hair to turn blond.
So if you have a potential match near the Glades and the only thing off is the hair color, it might be worth trying it anyway.

2. The two hardest things to recreate properly in a reconsrtuction of a Doe are the tip of the nose and lips. So if those are the only things off, but the rest of the facial structure seems to fit, I would give it a shot.

3. I have found that weight doesn't always mean that much. You have to remember that a person that was not eating well at home may have gained weight while on the street and that if someone was eating well at home they may have dropped weight while they were out on the street. (As applied to runaways.)

4. If someone had a fracture as a young child and it has been more than 5 years, that fracture may have healed so completely that it may not be noticeable in the x-rays.

5. When calling in a match, most of the time, the officer in charge of the case will be helpful. I have found that it is more helpful to call the jurisdiction with the Doe first. There are fewer Does than there are missing. In general, LE gets fewer tips on Does than on missing persons, so there is less chance of the officer in charge being burned out.

6. When you do call in a match, organize your notes first. The officer that you speak with is going to want to know what makes you believe that these two people are one and the same. It makes you sound more credible if you have all of your notes in order before you call. Also have any numbers, like the agency number, NCIC number, ME case number readily available. Be prepared to leave a message, most of the time you do not reach the person you need immediately. Usually they will call you back. It may take them a few days. I usually wait a week and if I haven't gotten a response, I call them again. Make sure that you also have the contact information for any other officers. So, if you are calling the agency that has the missing person, make sure you have the name and number of the officer that has the Missing Persons case.

 

[Cubby]

Two samples on emails for submitting possible matches.

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - TN TN- "Shotgun Jane Doe"- 607uftn - found - June 1987



Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - TN TN- "Shotgun Jane Doe"- 607uftn - found - June 1987

 

[Fin]

Depends on LE. They don't call me "The Nag" fer nothin'

Keep calling. Sometimes you have to ask for someone else if you don't get a response. I usually give 7 days then check in. I also try and get an email address. I find they like that way of communicating. I can send pictures and links, docs, etc.

I feel I can communicate better in writing than over the phone, so I prefer to email over using the phone. Emails are (I feel) faster, and use less of my time. I can send a word document with all the comparitive data side by side which is very visual, and I am not incurring the long distance phone expense. However, for this type of work, it seems that many emails just go unnoticed, or at least that is my perception. There is sometimes no acknowledgement that the email was received by the right person or is being looked into. I can see how email is a big disadvantage. You bring up some great points here. Thanks.

 

[Ambercat]

I hope this is the right place to ask this question, but a lot of my "pet" cases are in a specific location and I have submitted a few possible matches to one of the counties coroner's offices. There is one M/E - coroner's office that I have contacted about 7 times in the past year about possible matches via e-mail and the response that I received after the 6th match made me feel like I might be an annoyance to them (to the point where I was hesitant to e-mail them the last time that I did, it was just all of the timing/demographic information/distances were so close after much internal debate, I finally decided to e-mail them because it just seems like something that should be checked out). Is there any way to mitigate this in my e-mails (anything I can say?) -- I really don't want to get on their nerves, I just want to know if a particular MP has been compared with an UID? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Nameless Helper]

How accurate do you find that race is. With so many mixed race people is this really clear? Should it rule out matches? As I understand it there is significant variation within races for many defining "racial" features.

 

[squish]

It should be added, please do not mention Websleuths when you submit your tips.

This is a gathering place for amateurs, not an official organisation, and Websleuths don't want to be liable for anything forum members do.

Also, rightly or wrongly, LE might find you less credible if they know that you're a member of an amateur sleuthing site.

 

[physco219]

I have to disagree. With all the press about LISK and certain crime shows saying your a member of w/s seems to be an advantage of sorts. At least in some circles. A Leo I know said w/s members tend more often than not to have their ***** together. He welcomes tips from anyone but w/sers are better tip makers. Just my 2cents.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[Romulus]

Ok thanks for the line guide; one question: because the prefix not is active in Unidentified section? Not is possible submitted new unidentified cases!

 

[Ylva]

I have a possible match I was going to submit but since I live in Sweden and not in the US I can't phone it in, and there is no email adress listed in NamUs for the Case Manager. What can I do, is there maybe someone else who could submit it or someone else I should contact? I'm not sure what to do here.