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The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System known as NamUs collects information on unidentified remains and missing people from all over the U.S. The system automatically searches for matches. So far, the system is credited with helping to resolve at least 17 missing-person cases, including the case of Luis Fernandez.
Luis Fernandez's disappearance in 2007 almost remained a mystery.
Had an Omaha detective not taken advantage of a new Department of Justice database, Fernandez's family most likely still would be waiting and wondering what happened to the 20-year-old.
Instead, they learned in 2009 that he had been killed probably not long after his family last saw him and his body left in a field, hidden by trees and brush.
His remains were found in late 2007 but weren't identified until shortly after the Omaha detective, Jim Shields, learned about the federal database that matches descriptions of the missing to those of unidentified remains. He entered details about Fernandez and soon had a match: a body found in western Iowa.
Now a 28-year-old Iowa man sits in jail, charged with first-degree murder in connection with Fernandez's death.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System known as NamUs collects information on unidentified remains and missing people from all over the U.S. The system automatically searches for matches.
Nationwide, it is estimated that the remains of more than 40,000 people await identification or were buried or cremated before being identified.
There are more than 10,000 cases on the NamUs site. So far, the system is credited with helping to resolve at least 17 missing-person cases, including the case of Luis Fernandez.
Forty-three missing Nebraskans, 20 of them from Omaha, are listed on NamUs, along with 19 Iowans.
The most recent entries from Omaha are the missing Szczepanik family, last seen in December, and Jennifer Andersen, a 33-year-old nurse who was reported missing in March.
The site isn't yet widely known among law enforcement, though it is open to anyone to search.
Shields learned of the database in July 2008 at a conference on cold missing-person cases. Back in Omaha, he decided to try the new system, and he turned to the case of 20-year-old Luis Fernandez.
A known member of the MS13 gang, Fernandez had put himself in the way of danger more than once.
He was a meth dealer, police said, and might have owed a large drug debt.
He was deported to Mexico in December 2006 after serving a little more than a year in prison for his part in a 2004 carjacking in Springfield, Neb.
At some point, he sneaked back into the country and returned to Omaha. Family members last saw him in July 2007 at a birthday party.
His sisters waited a year before reporting Fernandez missing. Shields said the sisters told him Fernandez was the type to take off on his own for long periods, and they thought maybe he had returned to Mexico.
“He was the type of guy to come and go as he pleased,” Shields said. “There wasn't a lot to follow up on.”
In October 2008, the sisters told Shields they had learned that their brother might have owed $20,000 to his drug supplier, someone they knew only by the names “Beto,” “Little Man” or “Borrego.”
They knew Fernandez had a friend who lived in New Market, Iowa.
Shields, who was working at the time in the missing-persons unit, entered Fernandez's information into NamUs. Shields since has transferred to the major crimes unit.
In late 2008, the NamUs system was new enough that volunteers were searching for matches between unidentified bodies and missing-person cases. Now the system matches details automatically.
A civilian volunteer searched for matches with Fernandez's description. Six days after entering Fernandez's information into the system, Shields got more than a dozen possible matches of unidentified remains from all over the country, including in Kansas and Missouri. But one possible match caught his attention.
Skeletal remains had been found by hunters in December 2007 in a farm field near Mount Ayr, Iowa. Shields looked at the map. Mount Ayr was just 40 miles from New Market on Iowa Highway 2.
The remains had been examined by a forensic anthropologist and forensic dentist, who determined that they belonged to a man in his early 20s. Clothing found at the site included a pair of skater shoes, Tommy Hilfiger jeans and a ring.
Fernandez's sisters provided samples of their DNA. On Jan. 11, 2009, through that DNA, the remains were determined to be those of Luis Fernandez.
Family members declined to comment other than to say they were relieved to know what had happened to Luis. His sisters drove to Iowa last week and put a cross in the field where his body was found.
According to court documents, investigators think Fernandez drove with a man to a remote location outside Mount Ayr for a drug deal. Investigators think the man, Collins Straight, shot Fernandez and left his body in an area covered by trees and grass.
Although Straight faces a first-degree murder trial in August, the homicide remains under investigation.
The director of forensic operations for the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office said that for several years after he first heard about NamUs, he was eager for the site to come to fruition.
“I think it is a wonderful tool and hope more coroner's offices and law enforcement use it,” said John Kraemer, who also worked on the Fernandez case. “The more people that use it, the more positive outcomes we will see.”
Shields recently was nominated for the Omaha Crime Stoppers Officer of the Year award for his work on the Fernandez case. To him, the NamUs site was instrumental in cracking the case.
“I don't think it ever would have been solved if not for this,” Shields said. “We had very limited information on Fernandez.”
Retrieved May 18, 2010, from http://www.omaha.com/article/20100513/NEWS01/705139864/0
The quickly growing field of forensic nursing offers great opportunities and rewarding career options. Because of this it can be hard to set yourself apart from your colleagues and peers, the Certified Forensic Nursing program can help you do just that.
What the CFN program can do for you
The Certified Forensic Nurse program will prepare as well as educate you onthe following things:
Want to know more about the American College of Forensic Examiners? Read the definitive history of the world's foremost association for foresnic experts, mental health professionals, and homeland security experts. If you want to understand the rise of ACFEI, this is the only book you'll ever need.
You can access United for Truth here.
Aside from our many strategic alliances and accreditations, here are some more things to keep in mind before choosing a credentialing program, and why the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute and its sister associations are a good choice to make:
For more information about credentials, the associations, or our journals, please visit us:
The American College of Forensic Examiners Institute: www.acfei.com
The American Psychotherapy Association: www.americanpsychotherapy.com
The American Association of Integrative Medicine: www.aaimedicine.com
The American Board for Certification in Homeland Security: www.abchs.com
Membership. Some of The American College of Forensic Examiners’ well-known members and Board members include; Dr. Henry Lee, Dr. Greg Vecchi, Dr. Zhaoming Chen, Dr. Marc Rabinoff, Congressmen Billy Long and Steven King, and Governor Tom Ridge. These individuals, as well as many other not listed here, have helped mold and guide ACFEI to be the prestigious, online, interactive, multimedia publisher that it is today. They have contributed their knowledge and expertise to ACFEI’s online credentialing programs such as the Certified Forensic Physician®, CFP program; the Registered Investigator®, RI®, program; and the Certified Forensic Consultant, CFC® program; to name a few.
ACFEI and all of its associations are continually seeking further validations, alliances, and accreditations in order to offer maximum continuing education benefits to its thousands of members. Sometimes it is our very members who foster these relationships; we encourage you to get involved and share your ideas for future alliances! This is a group of associations that recognize themselves as yours. We invite you to add your expertise to the pool and make it even greater.
Call (800) 423-9737 for more information, or visit acfei.com.
ACFEI is also an approved provider of training by the following professional organizations:
The outside bodies listed above, as well as the many other attest to the fact that the ACFEI has met or exceeded their regulations and standards to be approved providers of training. Organizations that represent medical doctors, accountants, psychologists, attorneys, law enforcement officers, dentists, military personnel, and numerous other professions and specialties would never approve an lesser, unregulated institution to provide training to these important persons.
Please contact either the American College of Forensic Examiners International, The American Board for Certifcation in Homeland Security, The American Association of Integrative Medicine, or the American Psychotherapy Association for more information about their respective programs, accrediting organizations, and educational opportunities:
www.acfei.com; (800) 423-9737
www.abchs.com; (877) 219-2519
www.aaimedicine.com; (877) 718-3053
www.americanpsycotherapy.com; (800) 205-9165
As the editor in chief of The Forensic Examiner, Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, and Inside Homeland Security (all peer-reviewed and available on newsstands); and for the associations themselves (The American College of Forensic Examiners International, The American Board for Certification in Homeland Security, the American Psychotherapy Association, and the American Association of Integrative Medicine), I have the privilege of working not only with individuals with remarkable talent, credentials, experience, and professionalism here at the ACFEI Headquarters, but also with the thousands of members who renew their memberships year after year to learn, network, and even teach one another.
I am proud to work with the courses and articles conceived and written by dedicated professionals who have made it their living to help heal, defend, serve, protect, and save their fellow citizens from terrorism, criminals, mental illness, disease, and so many other world problems and pandemics. I have reviewed dozens of resumes and curriculum vitae for my peer reviewers and course authors. Their degrees, credentials, and experience speak for themselves of the excellence embraced and exuded by the associations.
Under the umbrella of the American College of Forensic Examiners International, I have reviewed and edited articles that discuss cutting-edge research written with government agents I interviewed in person at Quantico; I have met forensic legends Dr. Cyril Wecht and Dr. Henry Lee (both long-time ACFEI members); and I get to see to completion the modules and coursework that are born of the passion of many prominent individuals from an array of important fields. I know for a fact that the continuing education curricula individuals like these and others help create are forged from impeccable research, training, and consultation. These people are far too intelligent, prestigious, and philanthropic to waste their time with lesser organizations; Dr. Robert O’Block’s ACFEI stands only for legitimacy and professionalism.
What is it that draws so many—nurses, physicians, soldiers, investigators, government employees, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and a sheer multitude of other honorable professions—into the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute fold? Decide for yourself, as thousands wisely did before you:
www.acfei.com
www.abchs.com
www.americanpsychotherapy.com
www.aaimedicine.com
The American College of Forensic Examiners Institute began in 1992; it is still here. Most membership associations rise and fall in less than a decade, but the passion of ACFEI’s founder, Dr. Robert O’Block, and the thousands of reputable people his associations help each year, has fueled continued growth since ACFEI’s inception nearly two decades ago.
As we continually improve our continuing education coursework, Web presence, and printed publications, that growth is bound to continue. The fields in which our members work, study, and fight—homeland security, all areas of forensics, integrative medicine, and psychotherapy—are not going anywhere anytime soon, and are dynamic and ever evolving. When you join the American Board for Certification in Homeland Security, the American Association for Integrative Medicine, the American Psychotherapy Association, or the tried-and-true American College of Forensic Examiners Institute, you will see that we rise above the competition in offering continuing education excellence. Dr. Robert O’Block has created a unique opportunity for you to meet like-minded professionals to network, learn, and teach one another and the world at large.
To learn more about each of these associations, please come see us:
The American College of Forensic Examiners: www.acfei.com
The American Board for Certification in Homeland Security: www.abchs.com
The American Association of Integrative Medicine: www.aaim.com
The American Psychotherapy Association: www.americanpsychotherapy.com
The American College of Forensic Examiners International began in 1992; it is still here. Most membership associations rise and fall in less than a decade, but the passion of ACFEI’s founder, Dr. Robert O’Block, and the thousands of reputable people his associations help each year, has fueled continued growth since ACFEI’s inception nearly two decades ago.
As we continually improve our continuing education coursework, Web presence, and printed publications, that growth is bound to continue. The fields in which our members work, study, and fight are not going anywhere anytime soon, and are dynamic and ever evolving. When you join the American Board for Certification in Homeland Security, the American Association for Integrative Medicine, the American Psychotherapy Association, or the tried-and-true American College of Forensic Examiners Institute, you will see that we rise above the competition in offering continuing education excellence. Dr. Robert O’Block has created a unique opportunity for you to meet like-minded professionals to network, learn, and teach one another and the world at large.
To learn more, please visit www.acfei.com.
What is it that draws so many—nurses, physicians, soldiers, investigators, government employees, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, forensic dentists, and a sheer multitude of other honorable professions—into the American College of Forensic Examiners Institute fold? Let me share with you just a few of the numerous reasons so you can better decide for yourself, as thousands wisely did before you:
Accreditation. The American College of Forensic Examiners Institute is an approved provider of continuing education by the following:
Continuing education alignments. In addition to the several accreditations above, we are also proud to inform you that:
To learn more, visit www.acfei.com
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ABFD,
ACFEI,
and ABCHS. All rights reserved. Dr. Robert O'Block, Founder, CEO, and Publisher.
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