room where examiners take fingerprints, look for signs of dental work and identifying marks such as tattoos. When that work is complete, remains are moved to a refrigerated area where they stay until funeral homes make arrangements for burial or cremation.
Why Does It Take So Long to Identify Bodies?
The process for identifying remains, some of which are partial, is careful work, especially when trauma is involved, Thiersch said."This isn't going into a room and saying, 'This is him,'" he said.
Efforts to identify using dental work, fingerprints or tattoos, can take time and if that doesn't work, officials turn to DNA testing. But that works best in cases in which a close family member can give a sample for comparison. They've only needed to use DNA testing to identify one of the slide victims. At the same time, detectives are working to help determine identities by using information from families, social media accounts and belongings from the site.
(MORE: 5 Reasons the West Is More Vulnerable to Mudslides)
How Many People Are Working There? What Do They Do?
The regular staff of about 12 at the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's office has been supported with dozens of professionals from King, Pierce, Skagit and Kitsap counties and members of the Air National Guard. Medical examiners are working with pathologists, dentists and medical investigators to clean bodies, take fingerprints, and note tattoos or other distinguishing features. Detectives and other professionals do online research and call families to determine the identities of the victims.http://www.weather.com/news/massive-mudslide-washington-community-20140323
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