Resources

The number of missing and unidentified persons in the United States poses one of the biggest challenges to law enforcement, medical examiners, and coroners tasked with resolving these important cases.  The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) is a national information clearinghouse and resource center which offers technology, forensic services, and investigative support to help resolve cases.  Funded by the National Institute of Justice and managed through a cooperative agreement with the UNT Health Science Center, NamUs offers all services at no cost to agencies or families of the missing.  The online NamUs databases are accessible to all, with secure case information accessible only to registered and vetted criminal justice users.  Forensic odontology and fingerprint examination are offered through NamUs to support case comparisons, and DNA analyses and forensic anthropology services are offered through affiliated UNT Center for Human Identification laboratories.  This webinar will focus on how technology can be a valuable resource to tribal nations working to build their capacity to respond to missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, and case studies will be provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the NamUs databases and forensic services.

BJ Spamer, Director/Forensic & Analytic Services/NamUS
Gwendolyn Packard, Facilitator