Archaeo-Forensic Investigation and Search (AFIS) was formed in 2009. It consists of a group of individual experts and practitioners who have worked together over the past four years in Ireland for the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR).

 

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains was established in 1998, as a result of the Good Friday Agreement, and is sponsored by the Governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, with each appointing a Commissioner. As its title suggests, the Commission is independent but reports back to the two governments on a regular basis.

 

In 2005, the Commission approached a member of the (now) AFIS team to conduct a review of what had occurred to date and also to make recommendations as to how the Commission might best progress its work in the future. The recommendations contained in the report (of the review) were subsequently accepted by the Commission and the two Governments and, in 2006, the group of investigators and forensic scientists, which now form the nucleus of the AFIS consortium, were brought together to undertake cold case reviews on individual cases and, where possible, to search for and recover the remains of the missing victims.

 

The structure of the Commission’s forensic investigation and search team currently comprises:

 

Senior Investigator / Lead Scientist

Deputy Senior Investigator / Family Liaison Officer

Investigator

Consultant Forensic Archaeologists / Anthropologists

Consultant Geophysicists

Canine Search Provision

Imagery Analyst

 

Most of our associates employed by the Commission are either independent consultants or members of niche specialist commercial organisations. Others are academics operating in the forensic science field. For the purposes of our work in Ireland, each expert is (effectively) self-employed and operates on a per diem rate. Additional specialist provision (e.g. DNA analysis, document examination, Lidar survey, aerial imagery, etc) is bought in on an ad hoc basis from relevant high quality providers. Site excavation and restoration is undertaken, where necessary, by local civil engineering contractors, who are only allowed to operate under the direct supervision of our forensic archaeologists.

 

Investigators perusing aerial imagery with one of our archaeologists

 

In summary, our approach to cases of this nature is, initially, to conduct background investigations. This might encompass liaison with law enforcement agencies and military, the handling of intermediaries and sources, the recovery of relevant documentation and imagery, the analysis of intelligence and, where appropriate, the tracing and interview of potential witnesses. The site will then be surveyed, measured, mapped and gridded. Every stage of our work is meticulously recorded. Archaeological survey will only commence at that stage and will progress sequentially from non-invasive to invasive techniques, as considered appropriate. Non-invasive approaches might include field walking, aerial survey, vegetation survey, geophysical survey and canine search.

 

Due to the confidential nature of our work for the Commission, we are not at liberty to provide a detailed account of our activities, save to say that we have completed operations on two sites which have been completely eliminated. We have also completed our work on a third site from which we recovered and identified the remains of a victim abducted and murdered in 1981. At the time of writing, we have team members deployed on three further sites.

 

The very cornerstone of our work encompasses the provision of high quality family liaison and victim (family) support. We maintain close links and an excellent rapport with the victims’ families. We ensure that relatives are always well informed and advised as to current activity and potential outcomes. We also endeavour to manage any media coverage of our work, maintaining a professional profile commensurate with our role and the case in question. Given our extensive experience and expertise, we believe we are rightly regarded as unsurpassed experts in the highly specialised process of ‘disappeared’ cold case review, investigation and search. Our canine forensic search capability is provided exclusively by Search Dogs UK and members of the International Rescue Training Centre Wales (IRTCW).

 

 On site operating a ground probing radar system