So she must have been buried (thus no vultures/buzzards yet). But she was found by a land owner because he noticed vultures around a particular area on his property. Therefore, her body had been preserved to a certain extent until it was found. If TOD was within 24 hours of her disappearance, isn't it rather incredible anything was left that interested vultures? Not to mention that at least a week had gone by since the wash/flood until she was found on August 6. How, pray tell, was there anything left on her body that would interest vultures? A scientist will know the answer or the possibilities as to how or why this occurred. Like you say, the body follows a natural progression of breaking down after we die. The elements/conditions either speed up or slow down the process. Heat speeds up the process. The desert is hot. When and where was she placed and under what conditions?
I'm curious if the autopsy revealed time of death. Extensive testing involving bone marrow is probably being conducted to reveal more information.
Brought over what I posted on the previous thread:
*Somewhat Graphic*
That was in response to GGE's thought that maybe the guys in the Blazer/Bronco were dumping the remains when they got stuck in the flood. That thought hit some of us but just momentarily.
You have to understand the desert, the climate changes, the terrain in that area, soil composition, and what it does to a body.
The area around there is rocky, except in the dried out washes. Those are sand, and the sand can go down MANY feet. It's the easiest and fastest place to dig.
Burying remains in the sand, in June, the hottest and driest month in Arizona, (temps upwards of 120 degrees in hot years, 7-12% humidity) causes the body to mummify. It's like drying flowers. The odor is not pungent after rising to the surface through several feet of sand.
Monsoon season "officially" starts mid June by the weather people's standard, but if you've lived here for a few years, it's pretty standard for the storms to start around the 4th of July.
Now, throw in a bigger than normal flash flood running down Weeks wash, the sand is going to shift, and the partially mummified remains are going to move up to the surface. The lungs and other parts of the body still have captured gases that make it buoyant and sand is heavier.
Surface water is usually far calmer than the water below. Flash floods have an undercurrent that is faster than the surface water. That's why it's pretty stupid to stand in a flash flood. 1. The undertow, and 2. You don't have a clue about what may be 6 inches below the surface, scorpions, snakes, garbage, uprooted vegetation....
More than likely, the remains were unearthed during this flood. Because we can assume it was in a partially mummified state, re-hydration would have taken longer, bacteria growth causing an odor would have taken longer, that in turn would attract raptors and predators to the remains. If left untouched, it would take even longer for an apparent odor to be noticed by human beings.
Not to be crude, but it's the difference between beef jerky and a raw steak. Put a steak several feet down in the sand of a wash in June in Arizona, it becomes the consistency of beef jerky after a few weeks. Add water and the beef jerky is going to float up through the sand, with or without a current. It might take a week or more, with high humidity and temps to cause bacteria to develop, which causes an odor.
It does NOT work the same in other areas, like Florida, which has a higher humidity all through the summer....and I will let you get your own graphic on that.
