The Search for “Fred”: An Unusual Vertical Burial Case,
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Wisniewski, Kristopher D. ; Cooper, Nicholas [1] ; Heaton, Vivienne ; Hope, Colin [1] ; Pirrie, Duncan [2] ; Mitten, Andrew J. [1] ; Pringle, Jamie K.
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[1] Keele University
Keele University
Newcastle-under-Lyme District, Reino Unido
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[2] University of South Wales
University of South Wales
Pontypridd, Reino Unido
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- Localización: Journal of forensic sciences, ISSN-e 1556-4029, ISSN 0022-1198, Vol. 64, Nº. 5, 2019, págs. 1530-1539
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
Police witness intelligence stated a murdered adult male “Fred” had been vertically buried in wooded hilly terrain 30 yearsago in the Midlands, U.K. Conventional search methods were unsuccessful; therefore, the police requested a geophysical investigation to beundertaken to determine whether “Fred” could be detected. A multiphased geophysical approach was conducted, using bulk ground conductiv-ity and metal detectors, then follow-up magnetics and ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey profiles on electromagnetic (EM) anomalousareas. A tight grid pattern was used to account for the reduced target size. Relatively high-resolution EM and GPR techniques were determinedoptimal for this terrain and sandy soil. Geophysical anomalies were identified and the most promising intrusively investigated, and this wasfound to be a large boulder and tree roots. Study implications suggest careful multiphase geophysical surveys are best practice and give confi-dence in cold case searches. This study yielded a no-body result, effectively saving police time and costs from further investigations.
