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Day 2

Human Rights, Migrant Death, Snapshots

Beyond Borders Team Day 2 Group Photo

Much of the work we’re doing this week focuses on finishing as many cases as possible, but today we were given many chances to experience how individuals at the Osteological Research and Processing Laboratory (ORPL) contribute to this humanitarian endeavor in other ways.  One of the opportunities we had was working with forensic odontologist Dr. James P. Fancher.  He kindly offered to show us his methodology and gave us the chance to help him with some dental cases.  We were able to watch him take pictures and x-rays of teeth, and he even let us take a few radiographs ourselves.  Since we normally do not focus on the dentition in this way, it was great to be able to see this part of the process.

UIndy Beyond Borders team touring the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility
Uindy team touring the FARF facility

Another facet we got to experience was the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF).  I have never been to a decomposition facility before, so it was truly an experience to get to see all the research being conducted there.  The facility stretches 26 acres, and we got to see quite a few different types of studies as we walked through the fields.  We were given a tour by Dr. Kate Spradley about the research that’s being conducted there, including burials, surface taphonomy, and scavenging studies.  It was fascinating to see all the research and how it will contribute to our current understanding of human decomposition in different environments.

Beyond Borders Team members in masks, gowns, and gloves prepared for processing
Amanda and Ryan processing

A third opportunity we had was learning how to process human remains and personal effects the Texas State way.  Dr. Tim Gocha directed us as the other team members and I removed skeletal material from a body bag into a large pot for processing.  We also removed all of the clothing from the bag in order to be cleaned later.  I then got the chance to help take photos of the personal effects from another individual.  I was able to assist by laying out the clothes and arranging them for the photographs, as well as noting any labels or sizes that may help in the identification process.

Beyond Borders team members performing skeletal analysis
Amanda and me working on the Biological Profile

While I always really enjoy getting to participate in creating the biological profile, I have also really appreciated getting these opportunities.  Learning how casework is done at different facilities has really improved my skills as a student of forensic anthropology.  It was also really great to see how other members of this collaborative effort help in identifying missing individuals.  I can’t wait to see what new opportunities tomorrow brings.

-Helen

Finding Missing Persons: Recent Cases

Human Rights, Migrant Death

For this post, I will focus on some of the more recent challenges at the South Texas Human Rights Center. Most of the work done at the center in the past focused on identifying those who lost their lives in Brooks County. Legislation was pushed to allow death certificates of the unidentified to become public record so that investigations could be made into the deaths of these individuals. Processes in Brooks County changed to make the system more efficient and effective at identifying the unknown. Collaborations were formed with other agencies and non-government organizations so that more information about those who went missing could be shared, ultimately assisting families and agencies investigating disappearances find their loved ones.

More recently, however, the South Texas Human Rights Center has played a major role in locating those who go missing within the past few days. We’ve had several success stories within the past few months where those who went missing are found alive, taken to hospitals, and ultimately reunited with their worried family members. It’s always a difficult situation, but we’re proud to live up to one of our goals: save migrant lives.

Looking for missing people along the border is extremely difficult for a number of reasons:

– the land that migrants are passing through is private ranch land. We can not search this land without permission from the owner. Ranch owners are very aware that migrants are using their land, but unlike Arizona, there  is no option to search the land without the owner’s permission.

– the land lacks specific landmarks that are easy to locate. In Arizona, the mountain ranges in the Sonoran Desert often provide a constant landmark that can be used to navigate; Texas land is flat. Migrants use phone lines, pipe lines, and fences to navigate north-to-south. This makes most missing persons reports extremely vague, simply because there are not many landmarks to reference. Border Patrol often relies on descriptions of fences (short and square shaped, tall and rectangular shaped) to figure out where someone could be.

– Combining the above information, information is vague, and even when it isn’t, is still unaccessible.

But we’ve had successes, many successes. As of today, since February of this year, we have found 28 people who were recently lost. Most of these individuals are eventually deported, but that’s a different story. At this point, what matters is that family members who call us are able to find out that their loved ones are alive. Sometimes it’s as simple as finding out that someone was apprehended last week. But often times, it takes unique collaborations between Arizona NGOs, us, and Border Patrol, to effectively locate and save someone’s loved one from an almost-certain death.

There are so many political and ethical roles that could be debated about these rescues. And for us at the STHRC, we are open to these conversations. They are important. Regardless, however, we must remember that as of right now, we are saving human lives. People are being sent to hospitals to heal. And each case involves multiple collaborations involving agencies of all kinds. Of course, if we think of systemic issues in home countries, there are many issues that still need to be addressed all over the Western Hemisphere. But we must keep in mind the small roles that we are playing in saving lives, and right now, that’s what matters.

Every day we respond to these cases. And every day I thank the individuals who talk to the families and reassure them that everything is being done to find their loved ones. I thank the multiple NGOs who stand up for the rights of these families to make sure that proper investigations and searches are conducted. I thank the Border Patrol agents who search for those who are lost. I thank the consulates who do everything they can to make sure that all agencies are are being held accountable. When it comes to these rescues, expertise comes down to experience and to patience and a heart of gold. I constantly thank those who teach me, directly or indirectly, what it means to apply skills to saving lives.

Ryan

Ready, Set, Go!

Human Rights, Migrant Death

Today was our first day at Texas State University doing skeletal analyses. Like last year, we were stationed at the Osteological Research and Processing Laboratory (ORPL), working with Dr. Kate Spradley and her graduate students. This laboratory is one of three labs at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS). ORPL is used for forensic anthropology casework and processing bodies that get donated to the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF), an outdoor decomposition research facility at Texas State.

Photo of the Texas State Osteological Research and Processing Laboratory
ORPL

We started off the day with a meeting, where we discussed the progress that had been made since our last visit. The conversation was filled with talk about dead ends, road blocks, and frustration all around, but the progress that they did make over the year kept everyone hopeful and motivated. This time there are less Texas State students around than we thought there would be. Unfortunately, we came during finals week, so many of the Texas State students are busy studying for exams.

Once the meeting was over, we split up into two skeletal analysis teams: the UIndy Team and the Texas State Team. Before we started, we set up a few different workspaces. We had our main table where we laid out the remains for skeletal analysis. We also had a clean table to set up all of our paperwork and another table where we could take measurements on the bones. Finally, we had a photography station to take pictures of the bones. We decided that the best strategy was to divide and conquer. We split up all the tasks that needed to be done for the analysis and went to our separate stations. We used this same strategy last year, so we were able to fall back into our routine pretty easily.

Beyond Borders Team Members looking through paperwork laid out on a clean table

I felt like we did a good amount of work today and hopefully the rest of this week will go just as well. As we ended the day and started packing up our supplies, we noticed something moving just outside the lab. I forgot to mention it before, but ORPL is actually located on a ranch. Outside of the lab, a few cows were walking near the building. Justin and I stopped what we were doing and headed outside to try and say hi to our new friends. Unfortunately, cows walk a lot faster than you think. We lost them and headed back to the lab. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Cows outside the Osteological Research and Processing Laboratory on the ranch it is located on
The cows!

–Amanda