NCJ Number
157536
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 45 Issue: 5 Dated: (September/October 1995) Pages: 510-512
Date Published
1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
An increase has occurred in the number of unidentified bodies found along two heavily traveled highways in southwestern Alabama, Interstate 10 and Interstate 65, and a case history of one victim indicates the value of information sharing among police jurisdictions.
Abstract
The victim was fingerprinted and searched using local fingerprint files, with no results. Copies of the fingerprints were sent to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation for a statewide automated fingerprint information system (AFIS) search and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national search. Copies of the fingerprints were also distributed to the identification sections of State police or highway patrols in all 50 States. The Oregon State Police contacted the Sheriff's Department in Baldwin County, Alabama, with information about the victim based on a manual file search. The next day, Kansas provided the victim's identity as well. The investigation leading to an arrest for murder required less than 30 days once the victim was identified. Had the identity of the deceased not been discovered, the person responsible for the crime might never have been apprehended. The value of AFIS in searching and identifying fingerprints in a relatively short period of time is discussed.