Cold case report: Geoforensic brownfield site search for murder victim based on prison informant lead
Cold case searches for the missing can be challenging, especially when the convicted perpetrator may or may not be giving forensic investigators truthful information. This paper reports on a cold case search for a teenage girl who was reported missing during the mid-2000s in north-west England, with...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Forensic Science International: Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000537 |
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| author | Jamie K. Pringle Andrew Binley Kristopher D. Wisniewski Ben Davenward Vivienne G. Heaton Georgina E. Handley |
| author_facet | Jamie K. Pringle Andrew Binley Kristopher D. Wisniewski Ben Davenward Vivienne G. Heaton Georgina E. Handley |
| author_sort | Jamie K. Pringle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cold case searches for the missing can be challenging, especially when the convicted perpetrator may or may not be giving forensic investigators truthful information. This paper reports on a cold case search for a teenage girl who was reported missing during the mid-2000s in north-west England, with this being the second area searched following the disclosure of information by a suspect prison cellmate. The disused search area had many uses, including an animal sanctuary after the girl went missing. Initial police ground searches proved unsuccessful in locating the victim. Geoforensic search aims was to use geophysics to identify potential burial position(s) within the search site priority areas to be then forensically investigated. A multi-phased geoforensic search was conducted, initially forensic botany removed vegetation back to when the girl went missing, electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys then identified potential burial areas, before ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were also collected in other areas to identify near-surface buried object positions. The EMI and GPR identified priority targets were then forensically excavated, with several isolated animal burials recovered and a drainage pipe identified to be cause of other geophysical targets, which gave confidence that any burials onsite could be identified geophysically. No case-relevant material was found. The case presented suggests these geoforensic approaches provide assurances to rule out forensic search locations, saving time and costs in such cold case investigations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-65585f3a77db4a31bc69236e54554358 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2665-9107 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forensic Science International: Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-65585f3a77db4a31bc69236e545543582025-01-04T04:57:01ZengElsevierForensic Science International: Reports2665-91072025-07-0111100404Cold case report: Geoforensic brownfield site search for murder victim based on prison informant leadJamie K. Pringle0Andrew Binley1Kristopher D. Wisniewski2Ben Davenward3Vivienne G. Heaton4Georgina E. Handley5School of Geography, Geology and Environment, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK; School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK; Corresponding author at: School of Geography, Geology and Environment, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK.Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, Lancashire LA1 4YQ, UKSchool of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UKSchool of Geography, Geology and Environment, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UKSchool of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UKSchool of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UKCold case searches for the missing can be challenging, especially when the convicted perpetrator may or may not be giving forensic investigators truthful information. This paper reports on a cold case search for a teenage girl who was reported missing during the mid-2000s in north-west England, with this being the second area searched following the disclosure of information by a suspect prison cellmate. The disused search area had many uses, including an animal sanctuary after the girl went missing. Initial police ground searches proved unsuccessful in locating the victim. Geoforensic search aims was to use geophysics to identify potential burial position(s) within the search site priority areas to be then forensically investigated. A multi-phased geoforensic search was conducted, initially forensic botany removed vegetation back to when the girl went missing, electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys then identified potential burial areas, before ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were also collected in other areas to identify near-surface buried object positions. The EMI and GPR identified priority targets were then forensically excavated, with several isolated animal burials recovered and a drainage pipe identified to be cause of other geophysical targets, which gave confidence that any burials onsite could be identified geophysically. No case-relevant material was found. The case presented suggests these geoforensic approaches provide assurances to rule out forensic search locations, saving time and costs in such cold case investigations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000537Forensic scienceGeoscienceCold caseEMIGPR |
| spellingShingle | Jamie K. Pringle Andrew Binley Kristopher D. Wisniewski Ben Davenward Vivienne G. Heaton Georgina E. Handley Cold case report: Geoforensic brownfield site search for murder victim based on prison informant lead Forensic Science International: Reports Forensic science Geoscience Cold case EMI GPR |
| title | Cold case report: Geoforensic brownfield site search for murder victim based on prison informant lead |
| title_full | Cold case report: Geoforensic brownfield site search for murder victim based on prison informant lead |
| title_fullStr | Cold case report: Geoforensic brownfield site search for murder victim based on prison informant lead |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cold case report: Geoforensic brownfield site search for murder victim based on prison informant lead |
| title_short | Cold case report: Geoforensic brownfield site search for murder victim based on prison informant lead |
| title_sort | cold case report geoforensic brownfield site search for murder victim based on prison informant lead |
| topic | Forensic science Geoscience Cold case EMI GPR |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000537 |
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