Defense Date
2026
Document Type
Directed Research Project
First Advisor
Tal Simmons, PhD, D-ABFA, ChFA
Second Advisor
James A. Russell, BA
Third Advisor
Stephen Stockman, MPA, CCSA
Fourth Advisor
Jenise Swall, PhD
Abstract
In searches for skeletal human remains, the ability to recover as complete an individual as possible is of utmost importance. Although the effectiveness of conducting searches for skeletal remains using ALS at night versus in daylight searches has been demonstrated, ALS effectiveness in searches including thermally damaged bones has not yet been explored. Mammalian livestock bones were burned in wood fires to a maximum temperature of 593 °C and assigned to one of three thermal damage categories. Twenty-four daytime and nighttime searches were performed for up to one hour by pairs of volunteers with search and rescue (SAR) experience. Both burned bones and unburned controls were placed in 5000 ft2 zones of eastern forest. Daytime searches were conducted using ambient light. Nighttime searches were conducted using handheld uvBeast™ or Crime-lite® ALS devices paired with filtered safety glasses; these devices produced ultraviolet (385-395 nm), violet (395-425 nm), or blue (420-470 nm) light. Overall recovery rates for all burn levels were not significantly different for daytime and nighttime searches; however, during nighttime searches, unburned bone and least burned bone had significantly higher recovery rates than charred bone and calcined bone (p< .001), and during daylight searches, unburned bone had significantly lower recovery rates than calcined bone (p=.015) and least burned bone had significantly lower recovery rates than both charred bone (p=.025) and calcined bone (p< .001). All three wavelengths tested were considered adequate for use in searches for human remains in which thermally damaged bones are expected or known to be present.
Rights
© The Author(s)
Is Part Of
VCU Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects
Date of Submission
4-23-2026