The harsh Sonoran Desert claims the lives of hundreds of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border each year. Many of the dead — about 1 in 3 — go unidentified. Now there may be an easier way to put a name to some of the suspected border crossers who died north of the international boundary.
On Monday, the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner and the human rights organization Humane Borders Inc. started an online system that will allow the public to identify the deceased found in southern Arizona — more than 2,000 deaths over 13 years.
"I'm glad to be able to help a small amount. I wish I could do more," said John Chamblee, research chair for Humane Borders.
Although Humane Borders and the medical examiner's office have distinct missions, both agencies want to raise awareness about migrant deaths and lessen the suffering of families. They can do that by helping to identify the dead and return the remains, said Dr. Gregory Hess, chief medical examiner for Pima County, speaking at a Tucson news conference.
The Arizona OpenGIS Initiative for Deceased Migrants will feature a map documenting deaths as far back to 2001. Any user can make inquiries online; the lists of the dead will be updated four times a year.
An anonymous donor gave $175,000 to develop the project, Hess said.
Since 2001, officials have found about 2,100 remains that are believed to belong to migrants. About 700 of those remain unidentified but were determined to be border crossers, based on personal items found on the bodies and other factors.
In cases where only bones are found, medical examiner officials tend to assume the person is a migrant, and they are rarely wrong, said Dr. Bruce Anderson, forensic anthropologist for the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner.
It is unclear whether deaths before 2001 will make their way into the system because information about them is incomplete, Hess said.
The hope is that the online portal will become a repository for migrant deaths throughout the Southwest, but that will depend on cooperation from other states and on future funding, he said.
The vast majority of those who die in the desert are Mexicans, followed by Guatemalans and Salvadorans, according to a report provided by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner. The causes of death for 68% of the migrants are undetermined. Many, however, die of exposure, Hess said.
The website is expected to serve as a tool for humanitarian border groups who leave water along routes in the Sonoran Desert, said Jill Nunes, spokeswoman for human rights organization Border Action Network in Tucson.
"We'll be studying how migration patterns have shifted," Nunes said, adding that the maps will help the group know where to allocate its water.
So far this year, the Pima County Forensic Science Center has discovered 48 sets of remains it believes belong to border crossers. They expect the number to climb during the summer.
Tuesday 7 May 2013
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ff-migrant-deaths-20130506,0,1831570.story
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