The use of geoscience methods for terrestrial forensic searches

Search protocols for hidden forensic objects beneath floors and within walls

“…The number of scholarly articles on the subject and commercial services dedicated to the surveying of concrete are too numerous to list here (e.g. see [25]), as are the general forensic applications, especially in the detection of soil-or sediment-buried human remains (although see [26] for summary). The use of GPR in investigating sub-concrete burials is more limited.…”

Preliminary results of sequential monitoring of simulated clandestine graves in Colombia, South America, using ground penetrating radar and botany

“…1b) Human remains were also able to be used in Colombia in this research, to represent clandestine graves which had been emplaced long enough for human remains to be skeletonised. The time frame that this would occur would typically be months to years post-burial, depending on local climate, soil type and other variables described elsewhere [17]. provided recommendation on the dignity of human remains which was followed;…”

“…Current forensic search methods to detect both isolated and mass clandestine burials of murder victims are highly varied and have been reviewed elsewhere [17,18], with best practice suggesting a phased approach, moving from large-scale remote sensing methods [19] down to initial ground reconnaissance [20] and control studies before full searches are initiated [21,22). These full searches have also involved a variety of methods, including forensic geomorphology [20], forensic botany [23,24] and entomology [25,26], scent-trained search dogs [27,28], physical probing [29][30][31], thanatochemistry [32][33][34] and near-surface geophysics [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42].…”

Multi-disciplinary investigations at PoW Camp 198, Bridgend, S. Wales: site of a mass escape in March 1945

“…The Allied PoWs also managed to escape a much further distance than their Axis Poor chance of detection success. after Pringle, et al (2012).…”