Identifying Remains is a Slow Process

San Mateo County officials will decide by tonight whether to send remains recovered from the San Bruno fire site to the state crime lab for DNA testing.
"We have recovered some remains and we are continuing scientific analysis of them with the help of our anthropologist," said San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault on Monday afternoon.
Based on the analysis and the opinion of the anthropologist, Foucrault said he would determine tonight if the remains should be sent to the California Department of Justice crime lab in Richmond.
"Hopefully by tomorrow we'll have a better idea of the next steps," he said.
Foucrault declined to elaborate on the nature of the remains, such as whether they were teeth or bones or other materials.
"We're just saying 'remains' at this point," he said.
Michelle Quinn, spokesperson the California Attorney General's office, which includes the Department of Justice and the Richmond crime lab, said her agency had not yet been asked to step in, but was prepared to do so.
"We're happy to be of assistance if we're brought in," Quinn said

Meanwhile, other Bay Area forensic experts speculated on potential steps that might be employed.
"If there are teeth that survived the fire – and with an intense fire, there might not be -- they can submit those to a forensic odontologist," said Donna Kimmel-Lake, president of the California State Division of International Association for Identification.
Kimmel-Lake, a crime scene investigator and latent print examiner with Napa County, said the forensic odontologist would contact family members of suspected missing persons in San Bruno to see if they could provide the name of their loved one's dentist. Dental X-rays would then be examined to see if they matched with teeth that were recovered.
A similar process would be used with any bones that were found, in this case in consultation with an anthropologist who has forensic training, Kimmel-Lake said.
Locally, there are forensic-trained anthropologists at UC Davis and Chico campuses, she said. With bones, they can often determine not only if the remains are animal or human, but also the gender.
"It depends on what kind of bone," Kimmel-Lake said. "If it's a pelvic bone, for example, definitely they can determine gender, but if it's just a femur or teeth, they might not be able to."
If the teeth and bone identification is inconclusive or if there are no such remains found, then DNA testing is done, Kimmel-Lake said.
DNA testing may also be done, regardless of earlier tests, in special circumstances, such as to provide certainly for grieving family members, in suspicious situations or in criminal cases, she said.
She said she had no word on if any of those reasons for doing DNA testing were indicated in San Bruno.
"In this case, there are probably no finger or palm prints," she said. "It's such a weird fluke accident, and I've not heard about anything being suspicious."