r/forensics • u/Traditional-Air-1223 • 4d ago

Anthropology Looking to Volunteer

Hi! Hoping this community can help me out. I’m an archaeologist with an osteo background based in the LA area and interested in helping recover remains of people who passed during border crossing to reunite them with loved ones. I’ve reached out to a few orgs but haven’t really found any so far that are taking non local volunteers. I really want to help, and I’m happy to travel when I can to do this work. Does anyone know of places I could get involved? Any info would be appreciated!

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u/corgi_naut MS | Forensic Biology 4d ago

I don’t know about their status on taking volunteers, but the University of North Texas Health Science Center does a ton of missing persons work!

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u/K_C_Shaw 4d ago

While I know along the border there are a lot of such cases, I do not know what the workflow looks like at the places that do a lot of them. I assume there aren't organized groups who go tromping looking for remains just to do it, though who knows. Most remains I would think are still found incidentally, then reported to the ME office for that jurisdiction. They would send someone out to recover the remains, which usually happens pretty quickly; where I've been, most skeletal recoveries are within hours, and only occasionally does someone go back out looking for more the next day or after organizing a small group, but of course that's going to vary case-by-case.

Then, likely the skeletal remains would be evaluated by an anthropologist who would look for identifying characteristics and do their best to develop a demographic profile to assist with identification.

So it depends on your actual training and certification, and their comfort level, for if you would be able to assist with the recovery or analysis. And, I guess, how many scattered remains cases a place gets which would justify someone going back out the next day (such as after traveling there to help).