Mensch - just a quick note to say that although I posted the answer above, I am not the person who found the missing person. I wouldn't want to claim any credit nor put forward any ideas that detract from Frogger's submission.
Yes, I know, but I appreciate you responding to the question. I can better see how you apply logic.
Serious question - how do we, who may not be geographically close to a disappearance, and have no law enforcement credentials, search to link these two after 25 years? Contacting family is a huge emotional step both for the poster and for the UID's family and not one I'd be keen to take. LE controls the flow of information to the public.
It is very difficult. That I why I posed the question. I see threads started and usually the next day there is a submission and I say “But wait! What about such and such....How did you come to this conclusion? So I wanted to know if these submissions were based more on physical appearance. So while some submissions may look absurd when looking at the photos, it is more often than not that the submissions that are actually ridiculous and a waste of time are those where little or even no research was done and the physical features look good. There seems to be the notion that it is better to go ahead and turn it in and at least get a rule out. Actually this is not so and you can confirm this if you have a trusted ME or LE contact to talk with. When LE gets submissions daily based on same hair, same eyes, same smile, etc. they tend to ignore a reasonable case submission. It costs money to do DNA comparisons. It takes time and money to review a case. It is better to take longer and give them a 'connection' to the UI, such as a possible reason the MP would be or could be the deceased.
You are absolutely correct in not contacting family. At least not unless or until you think they may be receptive to assisting. This is rare. Despite the web pages and the pleas for help, people just don't want to know. They want to hang on to the notion of someday.......
There are three cases here on the board where the family says they want help and actually have websites and yet they make excuses or shade the facts because they can better live with a family member who is “just missing” than face the fact they left because they wanted to be somewhere else. So family is not the way to go at first.
Someone with access to better skip-trace software certainly has a better chance at some parts of the puzzle, but ultimately it is common sense, dedication, persistence and logic that counts. In some instances it is clear the person does not want to be found and there are privacy laws put into place to protect them. The Social Security Administration actually will forward letters from families to missing loved ones (with disabilities) but cannot 9by law) let the family know where the missing person is. There are laws in place to protect our privacy and I am glad for it. There is no ONE way. Each case has its problems and its potential. School records, Genealogy sites are good to research, etc. Carl can probably give you excellent tips in searching schools, papers, archives and other avenues for those with no photos or long time missing.
Dentals and DNA are one answer but they are ideally the confirmation of a case that has been built. But how does one go about building that case when the amount of information that is available is limited? If the answer is to involve law enforcement then it may be that the most efficient way to use their time is to skip the intermediate stage and go right to authentication.
When all you have is the physical comparison , every skin pore counts! I am working on one now, where I swear I can tell you every clogged pore on his face. Never take for granted that the identifiers were entered or even reported correctly. Get a good graphics photo enhancer and scan your potential matches literally inch by inch. Look at them in different lighting, in negative image and in black and white as well as color. See for yourself that every smear or clone, or use of any correcting tool alters the persons appearance. This is why ME do not make picture perfect images. Light bouncing off prominent bone structure and the shadows left will be what determines a good base to determine your match. If you can find sketched, sculptures and postmortem photos use all of them for comparison. Search the net or newspapers until you are sure there is not another photo left out and them study them all. Imagine them animated. Try to understand how they got a certain line on their face. Imagine different facial expressions. Forget the hair, the eye color, the smile (at least in the beginning. Focus on the skin, bones, teeth if visible, hairline (not style).
Sorry for the lengthy post. I need to get some zzzzs! Bottom line is: get to know your case so well, that it becomes the person next door, not a number in NamUS. With your sense of reasoning, you will progress and be successful. There cannot be a resolution to all of these cases. That is the hardest lesson I had to learn.
Below respectfully snipped by me:
So yes, there is speculation. But the speculation I engage in on here, and with others, is hopefully targeted to assess the quality of a submission or to help find possible matches. Every UID has some aspect that doesn't make sense; whether it's a family that chooses not to report missing, a police department that wouldn't take a report, a large distance from home, a delay between disappearance and location, or someone who drops the investigative ball early on, or something else. Otherwise identification should mostly be straightforward.
It is speculation that creates questions that get answered that creates more questions that brings resolution.
Great! However, speculation must be based on some fact. Is that fact relevant? I guess that is the first question.
Never give up the search! You may be the only person who can get someone out of a potters field, give him a name and proper burial. :twocents: