Nici Vance unravels the mysteries of unidentified remains
23.05.12
CLACKAMAS -- The bones in the storage room and remains in the freezer bother Nici Vance.
A man washed up on a Lincoln County beach in 2002. A woman found inside a tent in Portland's Washington Park in 2008. A woman pulled from the Willamette River in 1993.
Who are they? Do they have family? Is anyone looking for them?
Four years ago there were 60 unidentified remains at the Oregon medical examiner's office where Vance works as a forensic anthropologist. The oldest had been on a shelf since 1968.
Vance wants to unravel their mysteries.
"Everybody wants to know where people go," she says. "These bones are somebody's loved one."
In four years, Vance has identified the remains of 12 of the people. It's happened because of her love of anthropology, dogged work, the burgeoning science of DNA-based investigations and a national database open to both law enforcement and families.
"This is absolutely my passion," Vance says. "I want that closet
Source: OregonLive.com
