Reuniting Families

The bodies of Mexican migrant workers who died crossing into Texas and are buried in paupers' graves will be exhumed and possibly returned to their loved ones under a new program launched by Baylor's forensic science program. 
The project is the brainchild of Dr. Lori Baker, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology in forensics, and Dr. Susan Wallace, the founder and head of Baylor's fast-growing forensic science program and associate professor of anthropology. 
Dr. Baker, a DNA expert who has volunteered her time on other body identification projects in Peru and Panama, suggested last year that she and her husband, a bioinformatics professor, combine their efforts with Dr. Wallace to create what they call the "Reuniting Families" project at Baylor.
"It's terrible to have to tell family members that their loved one has died, but the closure that's given is very valuable," Dr. Baker said. 
In cooperation with the Texas Rangers, the project for forensic science students will provide valuable training while helping families discover what happened to loved ones who left to work in the United States and never were heard from again. 
"These are people with mothers, wives and families," Dr. Wallace said. "Why should their loved ones have to suffer? I can't imagine not knowing what happened to my son or daughter if they disappeared." 
In the spring, Dr. Wallace traveled to Del Rio, Texas, to identify where bodies have been buried and begin the process of exhuming them. 
"We'll be looking for artifacts like soft tissue, skin, color of hair, belt buckles, clothing," Dr. Wallace said. "We'll put all that information into a database that will list detailed descriptions for each body we exhume." 
Dr. Erich Baker, assistant professor of bioinformatics, will construct the interactive online database. Descriptions of the artifacts, such as clothing, will be posted online and distributed throughout the migrant worker community and in Mexico. If a family thinks it recognizes a loved one from the database description or if it submits a general inquiry, Dr. Lori Baker will send a swab kit to obtain a DNA sample from a grandmother, mother, brother or sister that would yield an exact match. 
The next phase of the project will be the exhumation of about 10 bodies this summer, but the three Baylor professors hope to expand the program as soon as they can obtain additional financing. Their efforts already have garnered support from the National Center for Farmworker Health, which publishes a newsletter that's distributed to about 35,000 migrant workers in the United States, and from Hispanic community leaders and the Mexican government.
 

Rooney is senior account executive and account manager at Gehrung Associates.