NCJ Number
224191
Journal
Forensic Magazine Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: February/March 2008 Pages: 14,16,18,21,22
Date Published
February 2008
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Utilizing a case study, this article describes and demonstrates the effectiveness of the Doe Network and Project EDAN (Everyone Deserves a Name) in bringing closure to cold cases that could otherwise remain unsolved.
Abstract
Each year, law enforcement officers around the world deal with thousands of cases of unidentified remains and missing persons. In addition to the sometimes decomposition and other damage making identification challenging, trying to match missing and unidentified persons is complicated by the lack of a central database. With new cases on the increase, officers have little time and resources which causes cases to remain unsolved and victims to remain nameless. That is where the Doe Network comes in. Established in 1999, the Doe Network is a group of volunteers who help law enforcement officers solve cold cases involving missing and unidentified persons in North America, Europe, and Australia. The group maintains an online database that can be searched by members of the public, as well as by law enforcement professionals and medical examiners (www.doenetwork.org). Volunteers attempt to match unidentified persons cases with missing persons cases. In addition, with a photograph of the unidentified person being a crucial piece of information to making a match with a missing person, the Doe Network formed a cooperative venture with Project EDAN which includes a group of certified forensic artists. For each case, a member of EDAN prepares the artwork and places it on the Doe Network’s Web site. Utilizing a case study from Broward County, FL of an unidentified and missing female, this article demonstrates the value of the Doe Network and Project EDAN. Figures and references