ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how various medical specialties assist in the underwater investigation. In the world of homicide investigators, there is an axiom that serves them well: “All unattended deaths are presumed homicides until proven otherwise.” Sometimes, that proof is immediately apparent, and sometimes it is not, but the presumption is still the starting point. Feet and shoes should be bagged in nylon bags to preserve any trace evidence in the shoe soles and to compare internal wear patterns of footwear. Footwear is easily dislodged during traditional body recovery operations. Trace evidence lodged in the soles of shoes may also be lost in the recovery process. An investigation of unattended deaths may focus on questions of identity. It makes no difference if drowning was accidental or a homicide, the identity of an unknown body is important. Personal effects, clothing, and gross anatomical features are the first items available for examination in attempting to determine identification.
