NCJ Number
161912
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 46 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/February 1996) Pages: 7-18
Date Published
1996
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article details the planning and procedures involved in conducting the search of a landfill for a body.
Abstract
The search was based on information supplied by a suspect in the case of a missing 10-year-old girl. The suspect indicated that the girl had accidently hit her head and died; he panicked, he said, and put her body in a garbage dumpster. Investigators identified the route and the truck that serviced the particular dumpster, as well as the landfill to which the garbage from the dumpster was taken. This article describes all of the planning and implementation details involved in the landfill search. Three cadaver-search dogs were trained and tested in garbage transfer stations. Investigators learned the details of how the landfill was structured and used. Safety issues for the dogs and the personnel involved in the search were identified. Concerns were cave-ins as the digging progressed and hazardous decomposition byproducts, including methane and hydrogen sulfide. A number of agencies were involved in the planning and implementation of the search, including the State Department of Environmental Protection, the Fire Rescue's Hazardous Materials Team, and Fire Rescue's Tactical Extrication and Rescue Team. Ladders were prepared to allow searchers easy access to the excavation, and buttresses were constructed to shore the walls of the hole as it was deepened. A medical team recorded baseline vital signs for each person who worked within the excavation itself. The complete search required 3 weeks to complete and cost an estimated $100,000. No body was found.