Likely human remains were found in Keene. What's next?

Authorities aren’t saying much about the apparent human remains found in Keene late last week, but a forensic expert said Tuesday that identifying remains can take awhile.

The Keene Police Department said Monday afternoon that what appeared to be human skeletal remains were discovered Friday in an area of upper Court Street.

The remains had been transferred to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for further study and possible identification, Keene police said in Monday’s news release.

Keene police, the Medical Examiner’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office declined to comment Tuesday.

But a forensic expert who is not involved in the investigation outlined for The Sentinel the general process of an investigation of this kind.

What happens next?

Generally, when human remains are found, experts work to ascertain whether the person died within the last few decades or much earlier, according to Daniel Wescott, director of the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University.

With remains from within the past 50 to 75 years, experts analyze them for trauma or other damage that could indicate the cause and manner of death. They may attempt to determine descriptors, such as age and sex, and extract a DNA sample to help identify the person.

Forensic anthropologists tend to transfer older remains to other experts, who typically run tests such as carbon dating to learn which era they belong to and their geographic origin, Wescott said. Carbon dating measures the rate of decay of radioactive isotopes in a person’s bones. The level of decay can help date bones as old as 60,000 years, according to the University of Chicago.

How is DNA used?

More from this section

Movies and TV shows casting in Portsmouth

With skeletal remains, anthropologists can generally identify people through dental records or extract bone fragments for DNA testing. If tests yield a DNA profile, experts may add that profile to the Combined DNA Index System, a national FBI database, Wescott said.

In some cases, when there’s no exact match, Wescott said experts can compare the person’s DNA to relatives through forensic genealogy, which involves comparing the sample to family members who got their DNA tested through commercial options such as 23AndMe.

How long does it take to identify remains?

The process could take weeks or months, according to Wescott, who said extracting and analyzing DNA can be slow, especially if forensic labs are backlogged.

Carbon dating and other tests for historic remains is likewise long and painstaking, he added. Cash-strapped institutions or agencies may also be limited by the cost of these tests.

Generating a DNA profile is just the beginning. That profile has to be matched to an existing sample from that person or from family members, which can sometimes take years or even decades.

•••

Mason Rouser can be reached at 603-283-0725 or mrouser@keenesentinel.com.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. Don’t just read this. Share it with one person who doesn’t usually follow local news — that’s how we make an impact. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.