The search process: Integrating the investigation and identification of missing and unidentified persons

The effective search for the missing and identification of persons, alive or dead, are core components in the prevention and in resolving the issue of Missing Persons. Despite the growing literature on this topic, there is still a lack of publications describing the Search as a process that includes...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mercedes Salado Puerto, Denise Abboud, Jose Pablo Baraybar, Angel Carracedo, Stephen Fonseca, William Goodwin, Pierre Guyomarc'h, Alejandra Jimenez, Udo Krenzer, Maria Dolores Morcillo Mendez, Jose Luis Prieto, Jacqueline Rodriguez Gonzalez, Yarimar Ruiz Orozco, Jane Taylor, Ajith Tennakoon, Kristy Winter, Oran Finegan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-01-01
Series:Forensic Science International: Synergy
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X21000243
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Summary:The effective search for the missing and identification of persons, alive or dead, are core components in the prevention and in resolving the issue of Missing Persons. Despite the growing literature on this topic, there is still a lack of publications describing the Search as a process that includes different phases inherently composed of forensic investigative and identification principles for both living and deceased missing persons. This paper is the result of discussions between the Forensic Unit of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and members of its external Forensic Advisory Board. It aims to present the Search process as an overarching concept that includes the investigation and identification phases of the missing in any state (dead or alive), in any scenario (with or without bodies), with an integrated, multidisciplinary, and multiagency approach for implementation by all actors involved in the investigation and identification phases of missing persons.
ISSN:2589-871X