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| Artists' impressions: sculptors help to identify victims found on US-Mexico border | Artists' impressions: sculptors help to identify victims found on US-Mexico border |
| (13 days later) | |
| The families of eight men found dead on the US border with Mexico do not know what happened to them. The men have not been identified but their skulls sit in the office of the medical examiner of Pima County, Arizona, about 70 miles north of the border. | The families of eight men found dead on the US border with Mexico do not know what happened to them. The men have not been identified but their skulls sit in the office of the medical examiner of Pima County, Arizona, about 70 miles north of the border. |
| This week, in a last-ditch effort to provide answers, artists at the New York Academy of Art sculpted facial reconstructions of the men – the first time an art school has done such forensic work on presumed migrants. | This week, in a last-ditch effort to provide answers, artists at the New York Academy of Art sculpted facial reconstructions of the men – the first time an art school has done such forensic work on presumed migrants. |
| The students worked from 3D-printed copies of the skulls and with information available to the medical examiner: usually height, gender, nationality and age range. Each student used clay and other materials to reconstruct the face in front of them. The result was photographed and added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs. | The students worked from 3D-printed copies of the skulls and with information available to the medical examiner: usually height, gender, nationality and age range. Each student used clay and other materials to reconstruct the face in front of them. The result was photographed and added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs. |
| “It’s like a God complex,” said one student, Kathleen Gallo. “This life and the lives of everyone who knew him are at stake.” | “It’s like a God complex,” said one student, Kathleen Gallo. “This life and the lives of everyone who knew him are at stake.” |
| It’s like a God complex. This life and the lives of everyone who knew him are at stake | It’s like a God complex. This life and the lives of everyone who knew him are at stake |
| The unidentified men were just a small group of the 1,004 people found dead in Pima County since 2000 who have never been formally identified. Another 1,812 have since been given a name. | The unidentified men were just a small group of the 1,004 people found dead in Pima County since 2000 who have never been formally identified. Another 1,812 have since been given a name. |
| Such work is not easy. The students must accurately depict a once-living person, using only their skull. To do this, they follow basic rules of anatomy. For example, a small change of direction on the mastoid process, a bony projection behind the ear, indicates whether a person has detached or attached earlobes. A hairline notch in the nose can signify a deviated septum or injury; the span from the brow of the nose to its end is always the same as that from the top to the bottom of the ears. | Such work is not easy. The students must accurately depict a once-living person, using only their skull. To do this, they follow basic rules of anatomy. For example, a small change of direction on the mastoid process, a bony projection behind the ear, indicates whether a person has detached or attached earlobes. A hairline notch in the nose can signify a deviated septum or injury; the span from the brow of the nose to its end is always the same as that from the top to the bottom of the ears. |
| Another student, Chris Page, said he operated under the mantra of a mentor: “You have to paint with ice water in your veins.” | Another student, Chris Page, said he operated under the mantra of a mentor: “You have to paint with ice water in your veins.” |
| ‘Putting a face on a skull’ | ‘Putting a face on a skull’ |
| Page participated in the school’s first forensic sculpture class, in 2015, in which students reconstructed faces using unidentified remains from the New York medical examiner’s office. | Page participated in the school’s first forensic sculpture class, in 2015, in which students reconstructed faces using unidentified remains from the New York medical examiner’s office. |
| Cases involving migrants found dead near the border are particularly hard to resolve. There is no central agency that collects information for all missing persons last seen crossing the US-Mexico border. Families may hesitate to contact authorities. | Cases involving migrants found dead near the border are particularly hard to resolve. There is no central agency that collects information for all missing persons last seen crossing the US-Mexico border. Families may hesitate to contact authorities. |
| “If we can’t raise any other leads in any other way, then putting a face on a skull is usually a positive thing to do,” said the Pima County medical examiner, Bruce Anderson. | “If we can’t raise any other leads in any other way, then putting a face on a skull is usually a positive thing to do,” said the Pima County medical examiner, Bruce Anderson. |
| Most of those who die crossing the harsh desert terrain of the border are killed by dehydration, heat stroke or hypothermia. Bodies decay quickly in the heat and are picked over by animals and insects. If they are found, they are discovered by border patrol officer, hikers, humanitarian groups, ranchers and hunters. | Most of those who die crossing the harsh desert terrain of the border are killed by dehydration, heat stroke or hypothermia. Bodies decay quickly in the heat and are picked over by animals and insects. If they are found, they are discovered by border patrol officer, hikers, humanitarian groups, ranchers and hunters. |
| “We provide answers to families,” Anderson said. “They are very painful answers, but they are answers owed to families. In our office here, we make no distinction between American citizens and foreign nationals in doing everything we can to identify a person and determine a cause of death.” | “We provide answers to families,” Anderson said. “They are very painful answers, but they are answers owed to families. In our office here, we make no distinction between American citizens and foreign nationals in doing everything we can to identify a person and determine a cause of death.” |
| Facial reconstructions have always been time-consuming and expensive. But technology has created an opening. The skulls worked on in New York were scanned at the medical examiner’s office in Arizona by a 3D tech company, Faro. The scans were then emailed to New York and a 3D printer belonging to the city medical examiner. | Facial reconstructions have always been time-consuming and expensive. But technology has created an opening. The skulls worked on in New York were scanned at the medical examiner’s office in Arizona by a 3D tech company, Faro. The scans were then emailed to New York and a 3D printer belonging to the city medical examiner. |
| The facial reconstruction class, only available to advanced students, is taught by Joe Mullins, a forensic artist who has worked for 18 years at at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and whose connections led to the partnership with Pima County. | The facial reconstruction class, only available to advanced students, is taught by Joe Mullins, a forensic artist who has worked for 18 years at at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and whose connections led to the partnership with Pima County. |
| Mullins used three previous classes to help clear skulls from the medical examiner’s shelves in New York. He hopes this year’s course will help do the same in Arizona. | Mullins used three previous classes to help clear skulls from the medical examiner’s shelves in New York. He hopes this year’s course will help do the same in Arizona. |
| “Just because they died trying to come here that doesn’t mean they should lose their identity,” he said. | “Just because they died trying to come here that doesn’t mean they should lose their identity,” he said. |
| By the fourth day of the five-day class, 3D scans had become fully formed faces. The room was silent, other than when Mullins consulted students on problems like unnaturally textured skin (the trick is to smooth it with the palm, not the fingers) and too-prominent eyebrows (don’t be afraid to aggressively scrape back the clay). | By the fourth day of the five-day class, 3D scans had become fully formed faces. The room was silent, other than when Mullins consulted students on problems like unnaturally textured skin (the trick is to smooth it with the palm, not the fingers) and too-prominent eyebrows (don’t be afraid to aggressively scrape back the clay). |
| It was clear when a reconstruction is complete, Mullins said. | It was clear when a reconstruction is complete, Mullins said. |
| “I stop when I see someone staring back at me.” | “I stop when I see someone staring back at me.” |
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