en immediately to rectify
the mistake. After permission had been granted by the State Health
Board to exhume the body of the dead woman, fingerprints were taken
and copies were forwarded to the FBI Identification Division. The
finger impressions were searched through the fingerprint files and the
true identity of the deceased was established.

During a 12-month period, the FBI Identification Division received
the fingerprints of 1,708 unknown dead. Of these, 1,298, or almost 76
percent, were identified. The remaining 410 were not identified simply
because fingerprints of these individuals were not in the FBI files.
It should be noted that in these 1,708 cases, it was possible to
secure legible fingerprints of the deceased in the usual manner by
inking the fingers in those instances in which decomposition had not
injured the ridge detail.

[Illustration: 387. Field equipment for disaster identification.]

In addition to the fingerprints of 1,708 unknown dead, the
Identification Division received the fingers and/or the hands of 85
unknown dead individuals. In these cases, decomposition was so far
advanced that it was not possible to secure inked fingerprints in the
regular manner. Of these, 68 bodies, or 80 percent of the group, were
identified. Of the 17 unidentified, the fingerprints of 14 were not in
the FBI files. In three cases decomposition was so far advanced that
all ridge detail had been destroyed.

In order to emphasize what can be accomplished, it is pointed out that
in those cases in which hands and fingers were submitted, the time
which elapsed from death until the specimens were received ranged from
a week to 3 years. Incredible as it may seem, it has been possible to
secure identifiable impressions 3 years after death.

These statistics of achievement in the field of identifying unknown
dead re-emphasize the fact that in all cases involving the
identification of a deceased person, fingerprints should be used as
the medium for establishing a conclusive and positive identification.

Generally speaking, in the course of their work fingerprint operators
find it necessary to take the impressions of three classes of deceased
persons.

They are:

- Those who have died recently, in which cases the task is
relatively simple.

- Those dead for a longer period, in which cases difficulty
is experienced due to pronounced stiffening of the fingers,
the early stages of decomposition, o