The Unidentified of New England

Presenter

Lindsay Sezen

Campus

Bridgewater State University

Sponsor

Darcy L. Boellstorff, Department of Geography, Bridgewater State University

Schedule

Session 3, 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A4, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 1 (A1-A20) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

My project focused on analyzing unidentified remains from the six New England states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island). Currently, the state of Massachusetts has 199 cases of deceased, unidentified individuals dating from as early as 1951. Maine has 20, Connecticut 46, Rhode Island 25, New Hampshire and Vermont 7. Before the advent of DNA testing, many unidentified bodies were buried in cemeteries after attempts at identification had failed. Fortunately, unidentified bodies are now DNA tested and then repatriated to families once a match has been confirmed. Unfortunately that means the unidentified buried before DNA testing and their families lack the same chance at closure. Recently, some municipalities nationwide have attempted to remedy this issue by exhuming unidentified remains, extracting DNA and then entering the results into missing persons databases. My project will focus on the opportunity for duplicating this work in New England. Where are unidentified bodies located? Why does Massachusetts have so many more unidentified bodies than the other New England states? Is there correlation for why people may remain unidentified? Do race, sex, condition of the remains or location play a factor? Using NamUs (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System) and ArcGIS, I attempted to visualize and analyze these factors and find answers within the data. I created a StoryMap using this data which can be found at: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/55d8b881d838453688ab9ef12e4d6fed.

Keywords

StoryMap

Research Area

Crime and Justice

SIMILAR ABSTRACTS (BY KEYWORD)