911爆料网

By Dakota Galvin, College of Arts and Sciences
 
Content warning: The article contains descriptions and images of human skeletal remains.

At USF-FORT in Gainesville, Fla., the unmistakable scent of decay lingered in the woods. But it was not a cause for alarm, it was part of a learning experience.

The Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology and Applied Science (IFAAS) hosted two intensive workshops last December designed for medicolegal professionals 鈥� drawing detectives, crime scene personnel, medical examiners, coroners, forensic anthropologists and archaeologists from across the country to the state.

The 鈥�Advanced Buried Body Workshop鈥� and the 鈥淏uried Body & Outdoor Homicide Scenes Workshop鈥� both offered 40 hours of coursework, giving participants hands-on experience excavating human burials, mass graves and other complex outdoor crime scene 鈥� practice designed to mirror the challenges they will inevitably face in the field.

The remains used in these exercises are real, and preparing and positioning them for the workshop took roughly two years. Research on human skeletal material helps validate forensic methods, giving investigators essential tools for identifying individuals 鈥� from establishing a biological profile to determining time  and manner of death. These techniques are central to solving homicide and missing-person cases.

To support this work, IFAAS operates the Body Donation Program and associated Skeletal Collection that allows donors to contribute to research and training that advance the field. Thanks to this program, IFAAS is one of only 12 programs in the nation able to provide this level of real-life training.

鈥淯sing real human cadavers is important 鈥� training like this offered elsewhere use pigs or plastic skeletons. It鈥檚 not the same,鈥� said Erin Kimmerle, the director of IFAAS.

鈥淚 know one of the participants looked for a number of years to try to find this kind of training. It鈥檚 really valuable to people working in that profession, but also really hard to find,鈥� she added.

That participant is Andrea Sampson, who traveled roughly 2,000 miles from the Hopi reservation in Shungopavi, Ariz., to attend the workshop.

鈥淏ack home we have a search and rescue team 鈥� they鈥檙e called the Four Corners Search and Rescue 鈥� and they help families on the Navajo Reservation and some families on the Hopi Reservation find their loved ones,鈥� Sampson said.

鈥淪ometimes they鈥檒l find their remains, but they have to rely on the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or the criminal investigation unit of the Navajo Nation or Indian Affairs, who don鈥檛 always have the skill to excavate,鈥� she added.

鈥淚t takes a lot of time, it鈥檚 consuming, and it brings a lot of heartache 鈥� as much as we wished for closure. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 here, to help them understand what to look for.鈥�

While many participants came to strengthen their field skills, one attendee used the workshop as an opportunity to bridge disciplines through a one-of-a-kind collaboration between IFAAS and USF鈥檚 Institute on Digital Exploration (IDEx). Graduate student Aiden Eylward鈥檚 research explores how 3D technology is integrated into forensic work, specifically how this technology shapes the scientific process of working with and studying human skeletal remains.

鈥淢y interest in anthropology quickly turned into a passion once I realized that applied anthropologists, especially forensic anthropologists, are doing work that directly serves communities,鈥� Eylward said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about reconstructing identities and stories that would otherwise remain untold, and that purpose is what really drew me into this field.鈥�

With that in mind, Eylward helped form the collaboration between IFAAS and IDEx, allowing him to contribute in his own way. 鈥淚 was able to instruct participants on 3D sensing and burial documentation using a full suite of technologies that are unique to IDEx and to this program,鈥� he said.

Despite the demand for this training, the future of these workshops is uncertain. USF-FORT鈥檚 land-use agreement has ended, meaning IFAAS will have to close the program or find a new space for it.

鈥淥ur hope, of course, is that we can get more space hopefully closer to USF 鈥� that would be ideal,鈥� Kimmerle said.

鈥�911爆料网 want to keep it going. 911爆料网鈥檝e been running this program for about 10 years, and we don鈥檛 want to lose it.鈥�

For now, the future of the workshops remains uncertain. But for the investigators who depend on this training, the students who help deliver it and the communities they all serve, the need for this work 鈥� and the responsibility to preserve it 鈥� is only growing. 
 
鈥淔orensic anthropology training requires hands-on learning that cannot be fully replaced by classroom instruction,鈥� said Natalie Wise, a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology and body donations coordinator.

The workshops also benefitted Tuesday Frasier, another PhD student in the Department of Anthropology and workshop instructor.

鈥淚t was a great opportunity to put my field skills to use that I don鈥檛 get to regularly use while I鈥檓 in the lab or doing my research,鈥� Frasier said. 鈥淭he idea is that someday in practice, I鈥檒l be able to assist in a real鈥憌orld situation to help with search, location and recovery of clandestine burials.鈥�

Although she served as an instructor, Frasier said she also learned a lot from her students.

鈥淭he participants all had different backgrounds and experiences that really made for a well鈥憆ounded group of experienced professionals,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hile they all learned methods for locating a burial and how to read the soil, I learned just as much from them about their individual roles in handling these types of scenarios.鈥�

As for Andrea, she returned home to pass on what she learned to her local search and rescue team.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e first boots-on-the-ground and when they find human remains, they鈥檙e not always able to preserve an area, and then sometimes local law enforcement and FBI aren鈥檛 able to respond after two weeks,鈥� Sampson said.

鈥淲ith these skills, they鈥檙e going to learn how to better preserve, identify, collect data鈥�And help.鈥�

Together, the experiences of participants, students and instructors reflect what has defined these workshops for more than a decade: training that is rare, deeply needed and impossible to replicate in a classroom alone. As IFAAS searches for a new home for the program, those who rely on it 鈥� and those who help deliver it 鈥� say its impact is too important to lose.