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| State law creates database for Louisiana | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 20 2007, 06:34 AM (372 Views) | |
| Ell | Apr 20 2007, 06:34 AM Post #1 |
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Heart of Gold
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State law creates database for Louisiana's unidentified, missing April 20, 2007 Help with a cold case Could a facial reconstruction from human remains found in a Bossier Parish landfill in 1979 be related to a cold case in DeSoto Parish? The idea is not too far fetched, forensic anthropologist Mary Manhein said, admitting she is open to exploring any possibility in her attempt to put a name with remains. The skull recovered from the landfill was given to Manhein several months ago and imaging specialist Eileen Barrow has completed a new facial reconstruction. Manhein estimates the skull belongs to a white male with a American Indian background. He's 24 to 28 years old, and his body likely had been buried one to four years, putting his death between 1974 and 1978. DeSoto sheriff's Lt. Robert Davidson wonders if the remains could belong to Victor Barajas, of McAllen, Texas, who was reported missing after visiting Mansfield in December 1975. The body of his companion, Michael Norris Catlett, 27, was found in July 1979 in the Mansfield dump. He, too, was reported missing at the same time as Barajas. The two arrived in Mansfield in a Dodge truck, which was found in January 1976 at South Park Mall in Shreveport. It contained a small amount of marijuana, but was wiped clean of prints. Catlett was a known drug dealer from Edinburg, Texas, and was a member of a Mexican drug cartel, according to investigative records. Davidson would like to locate members of Barajas' family to obtain DNA samples to see if they could be a match to the Bossier Parish skull. Barajas' mother and father, Antonio, once lived in the 600 block of North Street in McAllen, Texas, and a sister, Marie E. Cruz, once lived in Leesville. Anyone with information on any of Barajas' relatives should call the sheriff's office at (318) 872-3956. Related articles: • Forensic anthropologist doesn't take no for an answer By Vickie Welborn vwelborn@gannett.com BATON ROUGE — Mary Manhein's desire for a comprehensive database for unidentified and missing people in Louisiana started years ago. The need for the clearinghouse of information became more evident to her and others in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The remains of 29 people killed in the devastating storm still are nameless. Manhein, a forensic anthropologist who's headed the LSU Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Lab for more than 20 years, last year turned to state legislators who unanimously passed a law she crafted designating the LSU FACES Lab as the Louisiana Repository for Unidentified and Missing Persons Information Program. Effective Aug. 15, the law requires state law enforcement agencies and coroners' offices to turn over unidentified human remains and provide information on cold and current missing persons cases. The goal is to build the best database of its kind in the country, Manhein. But always at the forefront is the closure it will bring families. "A case is never closed until a body is identified," Manhein said. She's found that word of the state law is not widespread beyond the Baton Rouge area. That's why she's eager to share information about it through interviews and workshops. And most important is that all of DNA or associated testing done on the cases she inherits or is called upon by law enforcement to assist is done free of charge. The state allocates money to cover the bills under the new law, including DNA testing that is done through a contract with the North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory in Shreveport. "I think it's a great resource and you can't beat the price," DeSoto Parish Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle said of Manhein's current assistance with two investigations of unidentified human remains in DeSoto Parish. "She is working with us at no charge "» and I think she can provide help with unsolved cases not only with us but with other departments once this program gets up and running. Her help might solve cases that wouldn't be solved otherwise." Recovered bones On March 2, Manhein and the FACES staff recovered scattered human remains from a wooded area near Grand Cane. Testing of the bones revealed the black male, whose age ranges from 28 to 38, was shot in the head, and his remains had been there at least six months. DNA evidence and dental records are still being studied in that case in an attempt to reach a positive identification of the man who is not from Louisiana. Unknown to DeSoto investigators until weeks ago was the "DeSoto 85" skull that Manhein and her staff of researchers were already working on. Manhein believes the skull belongs to a black male possibly in his early 20s, which could fit a missing person case dating back to 1984. Manhein gained possession of the skull and more than a dozen other sets of remains in March 2006 from the Bossier City pathology lab operated by the late Dr. George McCormick. Fortunately, she got them four months before the lab burned down. Manhein was asked several months ago to do a new facial reconstruction on a skull that was part of skeletal remains recovered from a Bossier Parish landfill in 1979. Manhein and imaging specialist Eileen Barrow estimate the skull belongs to a white male with American Indian background, ranging in age from 24 to 28, whose body had been buried from one to four years, putting his death between 1974 to 1978. Bossier sheriff's spokesman Ed Baswell is unaware of the circumstances of the body recovered from the landfill, but said, "Mary Manhein is one of the best in the business ... and if anybody in the world can do something with a minute piece of evidence, she can do it." Manhein has worked on more than 1,000 cases throughout her career, taking her to states outside Louisiana. One of the most noteworthy cases that drew national attention was the work Manhein and Barrow did on "Precious Doe." The body and decapitated head of the 3-year-old girl was found in 2001 in Kansas City. Attempts to identify her were fruitless until July 2003, when Manhein exhumed the remains and she and Barrow did a more precise facial reconstruction and age estimation. The new photographs prompted a tipster to come forward, resulting in the arrests of a mother and stepfather in the death of the girl then identified as Erica Green. 'We've got to try' Manhein admits she's not a one-person show. It takes a team, she said, from her staff of researchers hired specifically for their expertise to the dentists she calls upon to provide input on dental record comparisons. And because the repository is affiliated with LSU, Manhein can "cast a broad net" to get others in the university to help. Still, LSU doesn't spend a dime on the research or staffing; it's all covered by the state. Manhein has committed to doing a workshop in DeSoto Parish in July so that area law enforcement agencies can hear firsthand about the new law and to also receive tips on the techniques she uses in identification and trauma analysis. She titles the workshop as "Forensic Anthropology: The Real CSI." "We want to do this all over the state. It lets them know what we do and it reinforces the familiarity with the new law," Manhein said. Manhein thinks she has possession of almost all of the unidentified human remains that once sat on storage shelves in labs scattered across the state. From those remains, the FACES staff has about 10 to 15 cases in progress. Manhein estimates information on 60 to 75 unidentified human remains cases and more than 300 missing person cases has been fed into the new database so far. Within the past three weeks, Manhein has been able to turn over remains to two families following identification. Exhumations are not out of the question when it comes to trying to identify the untold number of people who are buried in Louisiana without an identity. "We've done one so far to get DNA samples," she said. Manhein says it's going to take years to build up the statewide database. "But we've got to try; I've got to try," Manhein said. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...mplate=printart |
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Ell Only after the last tree has been cut down; Only after the last fish has been caught; Only after the last river has been poisoned; Only then will you realize that money cannot be eaten. | |
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3:23 AM Jul 11