missing person, the public gets the message this is not only doable, but accomplished with ease. It’s a shame because it stokes their hopes to an unrealistic level.
But then, there is always this: for now it’s entertainment, but who back in 1957 would have thought something called DNA could prove a person innocent of murder, put a name to the Boy in the Bag, or lead to the identification of bones found in a forest as those of a long-missing young man? Even though the application of forensic science through the filter of entertainment often results in unrealistic expectations, those shows do give the hardworking and often underappreciated forensic experts a well-deserved tip of the hat. Because of these individuals and their relentless dedication to reuniting the missing with their families, many have been brought home.
All made possible courtesy of real-life crime scene investigation professionals.
R
In a picture taken many years ago, a little boy is dressed in a pair of pants and a long-sleeved, white shirt. A dark vest covers the shirt, and his feet are clad in shoes and socks. He is propped up in a chair covered with white cloth, most likely a sheet, and photographed in both right and left profiles. Bruises are visible in both photos. In one, the boy looks like a young version of actor Macaulay Culkin, who starred in the Home Alone movies. But he’s not. The picture is of the Boy in the Box.
In an effort to make the child appear more natural and lead to his identification, investigators dressed and photographed him as if he were alive. The photos generated leads, but nothing came of them. The child remains unidentified today.
In the past, it has not been uncommon for police and medical examiners to release photos of the dead in the hopes someone might place a name to their faces. Often, though, damage or decay renders the person unrecognizable. In the case of skeletonized remains, skulls cannot be identified without dental records or recorded past trauma.
Forensic artists were called in to bring the dead to life again by drawing a “living” version of the deceased or by creating a bust based on the skull and other recovered evidence, like hair. Now, science and art have met the computer and the outcome is faster and more lifelike.
Glenn Miller’s cubicle at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Alexandria, Virginia, is littered with computer screens bigger than most plasma televisions. Lining the windows in neat single file stand sculpted clay busts, much like the one made of the Boy in the Bag. That bust, created without charge by Philadelphia artist Frank Bender, was key in helping to identify the child. Those that line Miller’s windows today were also used to identify the dead in cases past.
Miller is a retired cop, but he is also an artist. He teaches other forensic artists the delicate specialties of facial reconstruction and age progression—the first critical to identifying recovered remains, the second a vital tool for investigators seeking a missing person.
Miller “draws” not with a pen or pencil or paint. Instead, the secret to his skillful, lifelike images can be found in computer software: Adobe Photoshop, to be precise. “Photoshop is the Holy Grail, a universal language,” Miller says.
In the beginning, Miller used a program designed to age progress a child. When the ability to digitize photos became possible, the process was revolutionized by Adobe’s software. Unlike a word processing program, not everyone can be successfully trained to use it. Miller says departments that send officers who are not artists to the classes he gives are disappointed because success in his discipline rests with a knowledge and background in art. But, in Miller’s words, “you don’t have to be a Rembrandt to get a good likeness.”
The results of Miller’s labors surround him and the others who work in the NCMEC’s forensic art unit. One bust, depicting the face of
But then, there is always this: for now it’s entertainment, but who back in 1957 would have thought something called DNA could prove a person innocent of murder, put a name to the Boy in the Bag, or lead to the identification of bones found in a forest as those of a long-missing young man? Even though the application of forensic science through the filter of entertainment often results in unrealistic expectations, those shows do give the hardworking and often underappreciated forensic experts a well-deserved tip of the hat. Because of these individuals and their relentless dedication to reuniting the missing with their families, many have been brought home.
All made possible courtesy of real-life crime scene investigation professionals.
R
In a picture taken many years ago, a little boy is dressed in a pair of pants and a long-sleeved, white shirt. A dark vest covers the shirt, and his feet are clad in shoes and socks. He is propped up in a chair covered with white cloth, most likely a sheet, and photographed in both right and left profiles. Bruises are visible in both photos. In one, the boy looks like a young version of actor Macaulay Culkin, who starred in the Home Alone movies. But he’s not. The picture is of the Boy in the Box.
In an effort to make the child appear more natural and lead to his identification, investigators dressed and photographed him as if he were alive. The photos generated leads, but nothing came of them. The child remains unidentified today.
In the past, it has not been uncommon for police and medical examiners to release photos of the dead in the hopes someone might place a name to their faces. Often, though, damage or decay renders the person unrecognizable. In the case of skeletonized remains, skulls cannot be identified without dental records or recorded past trauma.
Forensic artists were called in to bring the dead to life again by drawing a “living” version of the deceased or by creating a bust based on the skull and other recovered evidence, like hair. Now, science and art have met the computer and the outcome is faster and more lifelike.
Glenn Miller’s cubicle at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Alexandria, Virginia, is littered with computer screens bigger than most plasma televisions. Lining the windows in neat single file stand sculpted clay busts, much like the one made of the Boy in the Bag. That bust, created without charge by Philadelphia artist Frank Bender, was key in helping to identify the child. Those that line Miller’s windows today were also used to identify the dead in cases past.
Miller is a retired cop, but he is also an artist. He teaches other forensic artists the delicate specialties of facial reconstruction and age progression—the first critical to identifying recovered remains, the second a vital tool for investigators seeking a missing person.
Miller “draws” not with a pen or pencil or paint. Instead, the secret to his skillful, lifelike images can be found in computer software: Adobe Photoshop, to be precise. “Photoshop is the Holy Grail, a universal language,” Miller says.
In the beginning, Miller used a program designed to age progress a child. When the ability to digitize photos became possible, the process was revolutionized by Adobe’s software. Unlike a word processing program, not everyone can be successfully trained to use it. Miller says departments that send officers who are not artists to the classes he gives are disappointed because success in his discipline rests with a knowledge and background in art. But, in Miller’s words, “you don’t have to be a Rembrandt to get a good likeness.”
The results of Miller’s labors surround him and the others who work in the NCMEC’s forensic art unit. One bust, depicting the face of
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