In summer of 2019, the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) received a request to assist the Kansas City Kansas Police Department (KCKPD) in locating the remains of a buried victim. The victim’s remains have been missing for 20 years, but new information brought forward by witnesses suggest that the victim may be buried within or underneath a concrete house foundation. An additional investigation employed cadaver dogs at the site, who identified an area of interest in the NE edge of where the home once stood. KGS researchers collected GPR surveys over the property in November 2019. Two frequencies (200 MHz and 500 MHz) were acquired in both a N-S and E-W direction along the surface of the site. The results of this initial survey identified an anomaly in the northeast corner of the house. Using this evidence, crime scene investigators were able to obtain a search warrant, but with only a one week time frame for excavation. Initial excavation results identified areas of emplaced sand that correspond to the GPR anomaly detected. Using augers, KGS researchers defined the extent of this sand anomaly which led to the discovery of concrete stairs leading to an intact basement. A second GPR survey using higher frequencies (500 MHz and 1 GHz) was collected over the basement floor. Using the diffractions of the rebar lattice at the base of the concrete, GPR assisted investigators in identifying areas of the concrete floor that were measurably thicker or thinner and corresponded to surface clues for further investigation.
Presentation Date: Monday, October 12, 2020
Session Start Time: 1:50 PM
Presentation Time: 1:50 PM
Location: 360C
Presentation Type: Oral
