Dozens of unidentified murder victims have been found in Broward county since the 1960's..
Today, the sheriff's office launched a new program to try and identify the victims and bring closure to their families..
They're mixing old clues with new technology. Their goal: to name the nameless. No one's sure exactly where or how the victims' lived, but they all died in Broward county.
"We have a responsibility to identify these victims. And that's a responsibility for any law enforcement agency and I take that responsibility very very seriously" Said Sheriff Al Lamberti.
The Broward sheriff's office launched operation found and forgotten Tuesday morning. On a new seciton of their website, they've posted old pictures of the crime scene.... Unique articles of clothing and uncommon pieces of jewlery.
Whatever information they have on 40 victims whose bodies were discovered in the county over the last 40 years is now online for the public to view.
The chief medical examiner for Broward county says it's important to make the effort to identify them, even if it is a long-shot.
"But you know the lifespan of an individual is somewhere in the 70's or 80's, so there might be still a relative of people who know the person” said Joshua Perper.
The Broward county medical examiner and the sheriff's office say identifying these victims is essential to solving their murders and bringing closure to the families. But they're not just relying on the public to recognize something.
They're also taking a second look at evidence. Things like DNA, fingerprint databases and clay reconstruction technologies that either didn't exist or weren't available like they are today.
Heather Walsh-Haney, a forensic anthropologist says the popularity of tv shows like “CSI” and “Bones” have created a demand for that type of investigation.
"Forensic anthropology certainly started in the sixties, but it really didn't become recognized as a hard core science until about the 80's and early 90's" said Haney.
In the cases where they have nothing else, the sheriff's office says they'll dig up the skeletal remains to test DNA.
The sheriff's office expects to have more than a hundred cases on the website over the coming months.
You can read the details on any of these cases on the sheriff's office website..
Just click on the link below:
Operation Found and Forgotten
http://sheriff.org/apps/unidentified_victims/
