Doe Network now puts barely touched up images in their case file pages

[outofthedark]

It states on the Unidentified Victims page:
The Doe Network features facial sketches and / or reconstructions of victims only. We do not display any other types of images. The material covered in this section may be disturbing to some viewers nonetheless.

If they say reconstructions only- why do some of the case files contain post mortems that are BARELY retouched? I'm not talking about "Tattoo Man" type retouching- I'm talking about actual photos of dead people that look nowhere near touched up- most of these cases are mainly in the 800s-900s area, although there is 412UFFL that does have a PM photo with a sketch

My point here is, if your site says it only displays reconstructions- DO NOT DISPLAY POST MORTEM PHOTOS!

 

[Lisahas2cats]

That is why I do NOT, except under unusual circumstances, go to any page that references Unidentified Victims. Sketches and reconstructions make my chest hurt bad enough...running into actual photos really messes me up for a while .

 

[outofthedark]

That is why I do NOT, except under unusual circumstances, go to any page that references Unidentified Victims. Sketches and reconstructions make my chest hurt bad enough...running into actual photos really messes me up for a while .

If I end up running into actual photos on DN- I automatically delete it from the computer's viewing history

 

[Lisahas2cats]

I can't even do that...I cover my eyes so I can only see the top sliver of my screen, and maneuver the mouse up so I can just X out. If I tried to delete it from my history, I know I'd do something stupid like turn it into my desktop wallpaper or something.

 

[outofthedark]

What computer type do you have? Mine's a Windows XP where it allows me to delete something from the computer's internet history permanently

 

[rhyno1974]

I am not sure why the Doe Network does what it does, but I know when you are trying to match missing persons with unidentified victims-which many of us on here do-it is best if you have an actual image of the victim to compare to(IMO). Of course it all comes down to personal tolerance.

There are many great forensic artists out there that do tremendous jobs capturing what someone may have looked like alive, but there will always be a hint of their individual perception and I don't think this can compare to having an actual picture of the person.

 

[meggilyweggily]

There are many great forensic artists out there that do tremendous jobs capturing what someone may have looked like alive, but there will always be a hint of their individual perception and I don't think this can compare to having an actual picture of the person.

This statement has merit, but you must also consider that the photos are of obviously DEAD people, and you're expected to match them to people you saw living. That's harder than it sounds, I've been told, which is part of the reason for having sketches instead. The sketch would depict the person as they looked when they were alive.

An example would be the Boy in the Box case, I think they took photos of his corpse propped up in a lifelike position in a chair to help remind people this had once been a living child. Not that it helped in that case, but I think the theory is sound.

 

[MagicRose99]

What computer type do you have? Mine's a Windows XP where it allows me to delete something from the computer's internet history permanently

On the Internet Explorer Menu bar above, click on TOOLS, INTERNET OPTIONS and you can delete the cookies, internet temp files and history.

 

[Lisahas2cats]

Mine's an XP too....but trust me on this. Murphy's Law dictates that I would mess something like that up in a big time way! If I was just trying to delete some random something...no problem. Images that freak me out? Boom, instant wallpaper.

 

[anthrobones]

I wasn't even aware that any of them had PM photos (unless they had a link to a site that had them).

 

[outofthedark]

I wasn't even aware that any of them had PM photos (unless they had a link to a site that had them).

Some cases from Ontario, California, Arizona(?), one case from Wisconsin (963UMWI- new case), 2 cases(?) from Florida and a few others that I can't think of right now...

I do know that a Unidentified Female case from the Netherlands once had a PM photo in the case file that was replaced with a reconstruction.

In terms of links containing PM photos, Italy has probably the most that I've seen except for links that lead to Chi
L'ha Visto- a page for a TV show that airs mysteries or related

 

[LisainWV]

I've come across a few that seem to be morgue photos. It doesn't really bother me. Some of the reconstructs are so bad they look like cartoon characters - a real photo would help much more.

I think they should do whatever they think may get someone Id'ed and back to their loved ones (if they have any). For those that are disturbed by such images, doe should put a warning prior to entering that page.

 

[outofthedark]

Some of the reconstructs are so bad they look like cartoon characters - a real photo would help much more.

Most of them are great- some of them look like kid's artwork

Some of the reconstructions don't even fit the description of the person. Some of the does are listed as having "wavy hair" yet their reconstructions show straight hair

 

[KarlK]

I wasn't even aware that any of them had PM photos (unless they had a link to a site that had them).

PM photos are even sometimes published in serious newspapers, when all else fails for ID'ing a body. Most of the time the individual looks like they are asleep but sometimes they attempt to make them look lifelike and ironically those are the images that look the spookiest.

As Meaghan says it's difficult for most people to recognize someone they knew by looking at a PM photo even if there is no facial trauma, unless one is very intimate with the victim (as in knowing what they look like when they are asleep) so I guess those pictures are published with the hopes that a close relative may see it.

Some of you may have seen PM pictures of Marilyn Monroe and if you have you will agree with me that they look nothing like the live Monroe looked... to most people. However the few individuals who were close enough to her to know what she looked like when she had indulged in a generous dose of barbiturates said she did indeed look the way she did at the morgue. If she had been an anonymous missing person and those PM photos had been published perhaps one of those individuals close to her would have been able to ID the body that way.