Unidentified decedent

Example of a poster detailing information about four unidentified victims, all of whom have since been identified as: Tammy Alexander, Tammy Terrell, Sherri Jarvis, and Marcia King.

Unidentified decedent, or unidentified person (also abbreviated as UID or UP), is a corpse of a person whose identity cannot be established by police and medical examiners. In many cases, it is several years before the identities of some UIDs are found, while in some cases, they are never identified.[1] A UID may remain unidentified due to lack of evidence as well as absence of personal identification such as a driver's license. Where the remains have deteriorated or been mutilated to the point that the body is not easily recognized, a UID's face may be reconstructed to show what they had looked like before death.[2] UIDs are often referred to by the placeholder names "John Doe" or "Jane Doe".[3] In a database maintained by the Ontario Provincial Police, 371 unidentified decedents were found between 1964 and 2015.[4]

  1. ^ "Resolved Cases". doenetwork.org. The Doe Network. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  2. ^ Slott, Ellen L. (21 December 1977). "Sculptor Reconstructs Faces to Aid Police". The Evening Review. p. 3. Retrieved 21 July 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "Why Are Unidentified People Called John or Jane Doe?". mentalfloss.com. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Hong, Jackie. What happens to the unidentified dead? (2016) The Toronto Star". Retrieved 20 December 2023.