VAM110213, Jones Point Park, Alexandria

[tatertot]

Posted at 7:37 PM ET, 02/13/2011
Skeletal remains found in Alexandria
By Martin Weil

What appeared to be human skeletal remains were found Sunday in a park on the Potomac River in Alexandria.

Witnesses said a dog found a skull in a brushy area at Jones Point Park. Subsequent searching turned up further remains.

Few other details were available immediately.
By Martin Weil
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-bre...nd-in-alex.html

[tatertot]

http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2012/jun/2...ema-ar-2004835/

Medical examiner's office puts faces to old bones
By: Amanda Stewart | Inside NoVA
Published: June 21, 2012
Updated: June 21, 2012 - 9:14 PM

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. --

Authorities want help to identify three men whose skeletal remains were found in Northern Virginia over the past decade.

At a news conference at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Manassas on Thursday, police and medical examiner’s staff displayed facial approximations — colorless clay sculptures created by FBI forensic anthropologists — of the three men whose remains were found between 2003 and 2011 in Arlington County, Alexandria and Fairfax County, in hopes that someone will recognize them.

The skeletal remains represent three of the 220 unidentified people whose remains are currently housed in medical examiners’ offices throughout the state, said Chief Medical Examiner Leah Bush.

In the first case, a National Park Service maintenance worker found the remains while cleaning debris from under the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, off the George Washington Parkway, on Jan. 16, 2003. The remains were near a bike path and police think they were there about six months, said U.S. Park Police Sgt. Paul Brooks.

Forensic experts say the remains are those of a black man in his mid-30s who was between 5 feet, 7 inches and 5 feet, 8 inches tall.

Next, a man walking in the woods near Interstate 66 at the Fairfax County Parkway found a man’s skull on April 6, 2006, said Fairfax County police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell. Police found the rest of the skeletal remains nearby and believe the man, described as older and white, was 5 feet, 5 inches to 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and lived in a nearby homeless camp.

Police said the man was found with a broken rosary and a small Bible in his pants pocket, was wearing Lee blue jeans, a polo shirt with five thick Kelly green stripes, a windbreaker, a brown leather belt and blue and white Nike running shoes. Based on notes found in the nearby homeless camp, Fairfax County police have followed leads in Denton, Texas, Ohio, Vienna, Va.; and Washington, D.C., but have been unable to identify the man, Caldwell said.

In the third case discussed Thursday, authorities said a man walking his dog in the area of Fords Landing Way, also known as Jones Point, under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, found skeletal remains on Feb. 13, 2011. Authorities said the remains are those of an Asian man in his late 30s who was between 5 feet, 5 inches and 5 feet, 9 inches tall. The remains were found in a marshy area popular with fishermen and were probably there for 18 to 24 months, Brooks said.

Anyone with information about the 2003 or 2011 cases being investigated by the U.S. Park Police is asked to call the department’s criminal investigation branch at 202-610-8737.

Anyone with information about the 2006 case being investigated by the Fairfax County police is asked to call Detective Chris Flanagan at 703-246-7860.

[tatertot]

http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/in...0#entry11294506

[PorchlightUSA]

http://www.nbc12.com/story/20056845/12-inv...identify-bodies
12 INVESTIGATES: Using facial reconstruction to identify bodies

Posted: Nov 09, 2012 4:58 PM EST
Updated: Nov 09, 2012 5:36 PM EST
By Rachel DePompa - bio | email
Posted by Shawn Maclauchlan - email


RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) -
In 1995, a dog found human bones near an old barn on Angus Road in Richmond. The dog carried the remains back to a farmer, who called police.

Police were able to reconstruct his face from the skull - our best guess at what he looked like in life.

In 2000, along a wooded area on Commerce Road in Richmond, power crews found a skeleton and clothing. Another facial reconstruction was made. Police believe he was a black male between 50 and 65 years old.

"You want to get these people identified, because somewhere out there, someone is missing them," said Lara Frame. She's a staff investigator with the Medical Examiner's Office in Richmond.

"I work on these all the time. I look through their case files. I look through the scene photos," said Frame.

It's her job to pour through the pictures and stories, looking for clues to link these cases to missing person's reports. There are more than 200 unidentified dead in Virginia, cases dating as far back as the 70's.

"Every person has a right to be known. Who they are and what happened to them and have their story told," said Rochelle Altholz, also with the Medical Examiner's Office.

The office has FBI artists and anthropologists reconstruct faces whenever possible. The models are incredibly good. Derrick Parker was missing for years. His family never knew what happened to him until they saw a picture in a Gotcha magazine.

"They have an idea that something bad's happened to this person, but they never know what happened to them and when they finally find out, it's just a big relief and it's really emotional," said Altholz.

There's a database called the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). Families can add descriptions of their missing loved ones. And now they can also add their own DNA.

Thanks to recent advances in technology, scientists are finally able to pull DNA from bones. Mitochondrial DNA comes from the woman's side, so it's ideal to have a mother provide the DNA, but it's possible any family member can make a match.

All of the unidentified bodies found in Virginia are slowly getting a second look - a second chance at finding home.

"That's just amazing, to be able to give someone the knowledge of what happened to their loved one," said Frame.

To see more facial approximations of unidentified people in Virginia, visit http://www.vdh.state.va.us/medexam/missingperson.htm

If you recognize any of these people, call the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at (804) 786-3174.

Copyright 2012 WWBT NBC12. All rights reserved.

[PorchlightUSA]

The second case represents the skeletal remains of adult Asian male in his late-(thirties to early forties who was approximately 5’5” – 5’9” tall. The remains were discovered on February 13, 2011, by a man walking his dog in the area of Fords Landing Way in Alexandria.
http://www.vdh.state.va.us/medexam/missingperson.htm

Attached Image