ABSTRACT
The location of clandestine graves and recovery of human remains are time-consuming tasks that often require specialized assistance and equipment. The expedient graves often located in natural or man-made shallow depressions and loosely covered with soil scraped from the surface. They are often hastily covered with vegetation, leaves, and limbs from the immediate area. Decomposition of the body and entomological activity, particularly the presence of maggot masses, may increase the temperature of areas of the body even to the point of mid-decomposition changes. The Forward-Looking Infrared and Thermal Tomography Forward-looking infrared technique is most effective for surface recoveries and expedient graves. Cadaver dogs undergo highly specialized training. They differ from search-and-rescue dogs and bloodhounds in that they are trained to detect human body decomposition, not follow living human scents. A survey of the level of electrical resistance in the soil of an area suspected to contain a clandestine grave may indicate decomposition.
