The number of missing and unidentified persons has consumed Baton Rouge area residents’ minds since the connection of a serial killer.
With the number of people missing and unidentified growing, the Forensic Anthropology Center for Enhancement Services Laboratory has created a database using the WINID software. It contains vital information from case files such as dental records, race, gender, pictures and what the person was last seen wearing. The database provides an easy way to search through different case files without searching through each one individually, said FACES Lab Director Mary Manhein.
Manhein said the lab has been working on the database for the past year, but the process is time-consuming.
“There is only one person entering the data right now,” Manhein said. “It is good to have continuity because the information is specific. You don’t want to have many errors because it is not effective. We have to check and re-check data constantly to make sure it is current.”
The National Crime Information Center also has a database for dental records, but the system is not user-friendly, Manhein said.
Manhein said because the NCIC requires a large amount of detailed forms to be filled out, people are reluctant to give NCIC information which creates a void for people who are missing.
Manhein said the database’s software is free and user-friendly, which gives people a more efficient way to search through records.
The lab is working with all law enforcement agencies to compile their missing and unidentified person cases.
Manhein said they started with East Baton Rouge Parish and will continue with each parish until all 64 parishes are entered into the database.
Law enforcement agencies in Texas and Alabama also use the database. Though these agencies do not have access to the lab’s database, Manhein said they send the information to the lab, and after it is entered into the database it is cross-checked with the existing information.
Research associate Ginny Listi said the program has two different sections: antemortem for missing persons and postmortem for unidentified persons.
Each section requires the same information except the unidentified does not require a name or address.
In the antemortem section, the person’s name is entered with links to pictures and dental X-rays.
Both sections have an identifiers tab asking for information such as hair color, eye color, weight, and what the person was wearing when they were last seen. The dental tab gives a complete account of the person’s dental history. An odontogram shows what teeth have fillings and other orthodontic work. The user tab allows investigators to post comments if they compared the record with postmortem records.
When all information is entered, the records are compared using the “Best Matches” tool. This tool searches through each record and lists how many items it matches, misses and any possible matching records, Listi said.
There are 276 missing persons records in the database and 74 unidentified persons. Listi said the files were compiled through case files at the FACES Lab and from law enforcement agencies around the country.
Manhein said they hope to have all missing and unidentified persons in the state accounted for in the database.
“Our immediate goal is in Louisiana, but our far- reaching goal is at least the Southeast,” Manhein said.