NAMUS - Why It Matters To Illinois

8/9/2019 NAMUS - Why It Matters To Illinois

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National Missing andUnidentified Persons System

NamUs Training Academy

Illinois State TeamJuly 21, 2010

St. Louis, Missouri


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IL law Public Act 095-0192 Aug 2007

Law enforcement cannot refuse to take a missingpersons report due to the fact that the missing personis an adult

More comprehensive training and education for lawenforcement agencies involved in missing personscases and unidentified human remains cases

Free collection, analysis and entry into CODIS of family

DNA reference samples in Missing Persons casesContinuing federal funding for DNA testing and thecombined DNA index system

Subject to appropriations


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Illinois Statistics in NCIC (as of 06/30/2010)

Missing Persons

717 under 18 years of age 1294 over 18 years of age

Cases >90 days: 1385

Unidentified Persons

139


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ISP Missing Persons Clearinghouse

53,000 MP cases reported in FY2009

At any given time, ~3,200 pending cases

~96% are recovered still leaves ~130 unresolved MP cases at any

given time


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What is NamUs?

FREE web-based tool www.namus.gov

Accessible to everyone, but geared to: families of missing persons

law enforcement

medical examiners/coroners

victim advocates
http://www.namus.gov/http://www.namus.gov/


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Who can use NamUs?

Public

victims families

victims advocates

concerned citizens

Law Enforcement Officers

Medical Examiners/Coroners


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Missing Persons - Public

Anyone can register a missing person

and search the NamUs MP database

Not-for-profit organizations have access

to NamUs

Victims families and advocates


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Case Solved by the Public

Missing Persons Matched with Unidentified Remains:

Name: Sonia Lente

NamUs case #: UID#2726 and MP#597

Person Missing: October 03, 2002

Body Found: 2004

Location: Albuquerque, NM

Body Identified: June, 2009

In June, a citizen searching NamUs noticed a possible match between a woman who had been missingsince 2002 and an unidentified body found near Albuquerque two years later. Although authorities

initially thought the cases might be the same person, a DNA test was not close enough to make adefinitive match and the case grew cold. When the citizen cyber-sleuth saw a potential match inNamUs, she alerted the NamUs contact. A forensic odontologist, available through NamUs to assistjurisdictions free of charge assisted in the identification of remains. Two days later, the family ofwoman who had been missing for over six years was notified that their loved ones remains had finallybeen identified.

NamUs Role: NamUs allowed a private citizen to access information through a single system,where records from across the nation are now stored in one place. Providing public access to the datawas critical to the success of solving the Sonia Lente case.


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Missing Persons - Law Enforcement

LEOs can enter and update informationthemselves

Can measure the quality of the informationthemselves

Can monitor possible matches on a daily basis

Can decide whether the public can view certaininformation


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Case Solved by Law Enforcement

Name: Luis Fernandez

NamUs case #: MP #1768

UP #1870

Person Missing: July 2007

Body Found: December 3, 2007

Location: Ringgold County, Iowa

Body Identified: January 11, 2010

In July 2007 Luis Fernandez went missing in Omaha, NE. His family reported him missing in June 2008.Fernandezs case was entered into NamUs in March 2009 after Officer Jim Shields of the Omaha PoliceDepartment learned about NamUs at a conference at the University of North Texas Center for HumanIdentification. On April 6, 2009 a civilian from Iowa contacted Officer Shields and alerted him of a possiblematch between Luis Fernandez MP #1768 and UP #1870 The ME in Ringgold County, Iowa was pulledinto the case and began comparing dental records, which were ultimately inconclusive. The DNA processbegan and family reference samples were taken from Fernandezs family members. On January 11, 2010the UP in Iowa was positively identified as Luis Fernandez.

NamUs Role: A law enforcement officer entered his missing person cases into NamUs in hopes ofobtaining leads on some of his cold cases. Because a coroner in another state had also used the system onthe unidentified remains side, the two agencies were able to identify Luis Fernandez.


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Unidentified Persons - ME/Coroner

ME/C can enter and update UID informationthemselves

Can monitor possible matches on a dailybasis

Can give your own forensic specialistsaccess to the site to review cases

Free access to NamUs forensic specialistsfor consultation


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Groups in IL that are already using NamUs (asof July 2010)

Unidentified Decedent Database (18 cases)

Will County Coroners Office

Cook County ME Office

Kankakee County Coroners Office

Missing Persons Database (70 cases)


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Advantages of NamUs

Accessibility / User-friendly

Web-based / no specialized software

Automated searches between MP and UPdatabases

Images/Documents can be uploaded (tattoos,

jewelry, pictures, dental radiographs, x-rays,etc.)

Ability to exclude non-matches (NCIC will notlet you do this!)


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Cost

FREE

Free DNA kits and analysis if youre inNamUs

Free access to forensic specialists:

Pathology

Odontology

Anthropology

Fingerprints


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www.namus.gov

Illinois State Team Contact Information Cinda Lubich Missing Persons Clearinghouse, ISP

1 (800) 843-5763 [email protected] Barbara Lamacki Victim Advocate

(630) 215-9777 [email protected]

Det. Brady Bertrand Law Enforcement

(815) 802-7159 [email protected] Duane Northrup Coroner


Jamie Lynn Edwards Forensic Specialist

http://www.namus.gov/http://www.namus.gov/