“Deputy Coroner.”
Wade noted that he was wearing sturdy boots and carried a backpack full of gear.“We’d better get to it.”
“Just us?”
“Just us.”
Craig smiled.“Lead the way.”
Wade walked fast, wondering if they would have enough time to recover the remains.He answered Craig’s questions about the gravesite as they went.When they arrived, Craig photographed the scene and marked the edges of the grave with flagged stakes.He filled a container with soil and labeled it.Then he removed the utility blanket, folded it neatly, and took more photos.
“Whose footprints are these?”Craig asked.
“One of the kids who reported it.”
“I’m assuming you don’t want to make a mold.”
Wade didn’t see any reason to.“Would you?”
“No.This guy’s been here longer than they’ve been alive.”
“How long?”
“I can’t give an accurate estimate at a glance, but I’d say twenty years at least, based on the bone discoloration.”
Wade grunted his response.Craig donned his gloves and continued to work methodically, unearthing the remains piece by piece.He measured the depth of the soil with a metal ruler.He used fine tools like an archaeologist and set every bone on a cloth backdrop.The skull got wrapped separately.The clothing tatters went into a plastic bag.
“There’s a ring,” Craig said.
Wade brandished his own chain of custody bag.“Give it to me.”
Craig lifted the ring from the dirt and dropped it into the plastic bag.Wade inspected the personal item with growing excitement.
“This looks like a class ring.”
“What year?”
“I can’t tell.I’ll have to clean it.”
They grinned at each other, because it was a huge find.There were no other identifying objects among the remains.
“That’s it,” Craig said.“You might want to come back and check the hole again, even bag up all this dirt to sift through for microscopic evidence, but it’s a long shot at a gravesite with this level of decomposition.”
They tagged everything and got ready to leave.Wade measured the circumference of the tree in order to make an age estimation.
“Why did you take a soil sample?”Wade asked.
“To test the pH.Most of the soil in an arid climate like this is alkaline, which slows decay.”
Wade was impressed with his expertise.“What can you tell me about the remains?”
“It’s an adult male, over six feet tall.”
“Any signs of trauma?”
“The bones are dirty, so it’s hard to say.They need to be cleaned, like that ring, and inspected closely.”
“Should I be careful of evidence on the ring?”
