Belongings found with a body can sometimes provide clues to the identity.

Jeffry Scott / Staff
Metal frames on the upper front teeth may be one of the better clues to John Doe 41's identity.

Bodies found in the desert are often difficult to identify. That's when the Forensic Science Center gets to work.

Teeth framed in metal, cavities and missing teeth are about the only chance at putting a real name to the bones that are John Doe 41.

There are 62 bones, corpses and remains waiting to be identified at the Pima County Forensic Science Center. Each is a suspected illegal entrant who died trying to make the treacherous trek across the Southern Arizona desert.

With summer a day away, the backlog of unidentified corpses will only rise. Last year there were 153 bodies to identify. Most came to the center after June 1.

"Not one a day, but it averaged out to one a day," said Bruce Anderson, one of the center's forensic anthropologists.

John Doe 41 was found May 15, at least six months after he died in the desert in Pinal County.

He was 5 feet 4 inches tall. Some of his teeth were rotted by cavities, and seven of them are missing. The metal rim around his two front teeth is thought to be for decoration.

Those few clues leave the chances for identifying him slim.

"We don't have any ideas," said Anderson.

Last year, the bodies of up to 30 illegal entrants who could not be identified were buried in a pauper's grave in Pima County.

Half of the 120 bodies that were identified last year were easy cases. They carried a Mexican voter registration card, which include a thumbprint, or they were identified by family members.

It took investigation, technology and luck to put a name on the rest.

Tattoos, hairlines, scars, clothing and even the shape of skulls are examined. Fingerprints sometimes work, but it involves removing the hand and soaking it in a solution to soften skin that has dried under the desert sun.

Anderson studies bones, looking for healed fractures that leave the tiniest bit of uniqueness to the body. Somewhere, there might be a hospital record showing that break and giving a name.

The face of a corpse is not photographed in its entirety. That's because the gases built up in death can distend the features, leaving a grimace that makes the features unrecognizable and can be horrific.

"We don't want to traumatize the family by showing anything too gruesome," said Pima County's medical examiner, Dr. Bruce Parks.

When the office makes a positive identification, it's usually of an illegal entrant from Mexico. That's when the Mexican Consulate arranges for a family member to provide a DNA sample for testing.

The consulate works alongside Anderson, providing details from the autopsy and the center's investigation to Mexican authorities to share with families looking for a missing loved one. Mexico, however, lacks a database of missing persons that would quicken the process.

The Mexican government offers to cremate identified remains at no cost. If a family cannot afford the cost of returning a body to Mexico, or declines to have it cremated, the Mexican government pays the bill. The expense also might be shared by the person's home state or city, said Roberto Burgos, spokesman for the Mexican Consulate in Nogales.

The science of identity works, says Miguel Escobar Valdez, the Mexican consul in Douglas.

In 2001, there were 20 dead illegal border crossers, and all but two were not identified. In 2002, all 23 bodies were identified.

This year, there have been 10 bodies found in the Douglas area. Three have not been identified. But some day, Escobar Valdez said, someone might come forward with the clue that leads to a positive identification. "We never lose hope," he said.

Each detailed autopsy can cost up to $1,900, resulting in a bill to Pima County last fiscal year of $232,000.

"It's the right thing to do," Parks, the medical examiner, said of the expense. "We want to be as sure as possible that we're dealing with the correct individual and return the body to the right family."

* Contact reporter Michael Marizco at 573-4213 or mmarizco@azstarnet.com.