Australians happen across human remains more frequently than you’d think, and despite law enforcement’s best efforts, many still remain unidentified.
According to a study commissioned by the AFP in 2022, there are estimated to be 750 sets of unidentified human remains across the country, and many are integral to solving long-term missing persons cases.
Forensic Specialist Dr Samantha Rowbotham spoke on a recent episode of the Crime Insiders podcast about what happens when human remains are found:
Rowbotham recalled a case on Christmas Day in 2017, when snorkelers at Sandy Point found a complete, articulated skeleton lying on the sea floor.
“This individual was complete, and he was just lying on the sea floor in a supine position. So facing upwards,” she said.
But the individual’s identity was unknown. Rowbotham steps through her investigation:
Rowbotham started by creating a biological profile.
His profile couldn’t be found on police databases, so Rowbotham explains how they found who the man was on the full episode of the Crime Insiders podcast: