GOVERNMENT
From there, Binder can begin to build a family tree. “Usually, we’re looking at third, fourth and fifth cousins,” she said. “We have to build out the genetic match’s family tree to find connections and eventually figure out who the person is we’re trying to identify. It could be less than a day, it could take months or years.” While obtaining a usable DNA profile used to be the biggest obstacle, rapid scientific advancements have changed that. Instead, the bigger challenge these days is having enough profiles to match against. “The databases we use are made up of mostly western Europeans and Caucasians,” Binder said. “When you get into minority populations, it can be very, very difficult or even impossible to identify the subject.” Investigative genetic genealogists like Binder cannot use genetic profiles found on most consumer databases like 23andMe. Instead, they rely on the public to upload that information to the two databases they can use: FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch. “It’s the most common misconception,” she said. “If every person that wants to see these cases solved would upload their DNA, we would solve so many more.” ‘Silent mass disaster’ This summer, PCMEO plans to use its new grant money to start the process of identifying its frozen remains. Over the next two years, the office will collect DNA samples from family members of missing persons via law enforcement and foreign consulates. Each DNA analysis begins at $1,800 and can extend beyond $15,000 for forensic genealogy for addition testing, according to Dodt. That’s why the half-million-dollar grant is so important. Everyone involved in solving unidentified and missing persons cases — from the officers who initially investigate cases to the investigative genetic genealogists like Binder — cite the importance of identifying remains. “Some people have called unidentified remains a silent mass disaster,” Binder said. “We think about missing people all the time. Well, unidentified remains are the answers to missing people cases and their families are missing them.” For forensic anthropologist Koppenhaver- Astrom, it’s about helping families. “Helping families is the most important thing even if that’s just providing answers for what happened,” she said. “We deal with all sorts of death, that’s literally the job description. But we’re also here for the living as much as we are here for the dead.”
Date found Est. age
Sex
Race
Apr. 14, 1983 25-35
Male
Latino
Feb. 11, 1998 30-50
Male
White
Mar. 29, 2009 15-21
Male
Latino
Sep. 18, 2010 35-45
Male
Latino
Dec. 23, 2010 19-35
Male
Latino
Sep. 25, 2011
19-30
Male
Latino
WHO ARE MARICOPA’S UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS?
Feb. 24, 2011
30-50
Male
Uncertain
Thirteen unidentified persons cases are active in and around Maricopa. Nearly all of them are Latino men between the ages of 15 and 50 found in the desert, in washes or near roadways between 1983 and 2021. The three most recent cases — remains found from February 2019 to January 2021 — are all suspected by a county forensic anthropologist to be from the same person. Details about each case, including circumstances, available physical descriptions, evidence photos and specific locations, can be found at NamUs.gov.
Jan. 30, 2012 20-35
Male
Latino
Sep. 4, 2017
24-37
Male
White/Latino
Jan. 24, 2018 18-40
Male
White/Latino
Feb. 13, 2019 Unknown
Male
White/Latino
Mar. 6, 2019 Unknown
Male
White/Latino
Jan. 8, 2021
Unknown
Male
White/Latino
As the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s resident forensic anthropologist, Courtney Koppenhaver- Astrom conducts examinations to see if identity can be determined from skeletal remains.
PEST CONTROL Service
47 YEARS OF UNIDENTIFIED BODIES IN PINAL COUNTY
Records for Pinal County’s long-term unidentified persons cases began March 4, 1977, with the discovery of partial skeletal remains found in a desert wash. Since then, the county has documented 147 cases still pending identification. Before 2017, the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office handled local cases, which is why Pinal County currently only has just 20 unidentified remains in its office.
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