蘑菇短视频

On a cold morning in December 2025, six forensic anthropology students from Western Carolina University entered the woods of Ellerbe Creek with five of their professors and a group of Durham Police Department officials.

They combed the wilderness in a long line, slowly and methodically, searching for what small clues the forest floor kept. A piece of plastic. A length of fabric. What might鈥檝e been trash on another day, but now presented as evidence.

It took hours, block by block on an expansive grid, until a somber moment of discovery broke their rote, when Kayleigh Best, director of the forensic anthropology program, discovered the remains of an individual Durham Police investigators had been searching for since 2023.

鈥淒ue to the assistance by everyone involved from 蘑菇短视频, we can bring closure to the family of the deceased, as well as clear a case, and obtain valuable experience in these types of cases,鈥� said Donald Hall, investigator with the DPD. 鈥溎⒐蕉淌悠� allowing staff and students to conduct these types of searches and investigations greatly assists law enforcement in locating additional remains. I can tell you from personal experience, the Durham Police Department would not have located these remains without the assistance and experience of 蘑菇短视频.

鈥淭he staff that I worked with from 蘑菇短视频 were absolutely the most professional, respectful and experienced personnel I have ever worked with.鈥�

To incite the closure of such a case, to be directly involved in it, is a rare privilege, an act of service that career professionals aspire to. To experience it as a student is an even more unique opportunity, and one among many orchestrated by the faculty of 蘑菇短视频鈥檚 forensic anthropology department.

After all, it鈥檚 not the first investigation 蘑菇短视频 students have helped with to be thrust into the spotlight.

In February 2008, local news reported that three 蘑菇短视频 professors and four students hiked into Nantahala National Forest in Macon County to help homicide investigators distinguish human remains from animal bones in a high-profile case involving the suspected victim of a serial killer.

More recently, in February 2025, several Catamounts joined the Cherokee County Sheriff鈥檚 Office in a search for material remains off Burrell Mountain, where a hiker had earlier discovered a lone skull.

Over the two decades since the program鈥檚 inception in 2003, students and teachers of 蘑菇短视频鈥檚 forensic anthropology program have also conducted classes teaching hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officials about subjects like proper remains recovery methods, preserving forensic evidence during excavation and processing burned material.

鈥淔orensic anthropology at Western is an incredible experience for undergraduates, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to come here to Western,鈥� Best said, 鈥渂ecause we are one of a handful of programs that really gives students not just training and knowledge in the classroom, but hands-on experience.

鈥淚n all of our classes, we try to give them the education training that they would need if they chose to go on to do forensic anthropology or into related fields, like law enforcement or medical examining or the forensic sciences. We have students that go into bioarcheology, that work in the funeral industry, that work in the medical field. So, we have a broad diversity of interests in the program, but we also do a lot of hands-on labs.鈥�

...the Durham Police Department would not have located these remains without the assistance and experience of 蘑菇短视频.

With such a wide variety of research scenarios available, students of the program are meant to be able to get comfortable with the multidisciplinary nature of their field while exploring at their own pace. And their explorations go far and wide, from the common standards of police and evidence work to the brink of scientific study.

Leilah Melerine 鈥�25, a graduate of the forensic anthropology program, chose to apply her degree in the medical field, working in a university hospital.

鈥淚 gained once-in-a-lifetime experiences through the program. I was able to excavate graves, witness a controlled burning of a donated cadaver and have countless hours of hands-on experience with human remains. All in the name of improving our understanding of the process of death. There is truly no other program like it.鈥�

When Melerine weighed her options after graduation and decided she didn鈥檛 see herself pursuing a doctorate, it was her mentors in the program that encouraged her to explore all her options.

鈥淢y professors helped me immensely to find a path that did work for me, leading me to my current position working with tissue samples in a university hospital鈥� This degree can be utilized in a wide variety of ways, you just have to find what works for you,鈥� Melerine said.

Working in a lab processing tissue is something Melerine and many other Catamounts get plenty of practice with on campus, working with donated samples and forensic material left to the elements for study.

蘑菇短视频 also retains a large collection of more than 150 skeletons, studied and referenced by researchers across the globe, that current students can examine to theorize new ways skeleton elements can reveal the identities of the deceased.


Alumnus Joe Hefner 鈥�97 paid a visit to campus this March to clue students in on exactly how that鈥檚 possible.

Hefner is an associate professor of anthropology at Michigan State University and the leader of a $2.1 million research project called MOSAIC, or Methods of Sex, Stature, Affinity and Age for Identification through Computational Standardization.

To put it simply, the MOSAIC project, which receives its funding from the National Institute of Justice, is focused on improving the biological profiling used for identifying human remains.

To construct a profile for law enforcement officials or researchers, forensic anthropologists are frequently asked to estimate factors like age, sex, stature and cultural community from a complex set of measurements.

MOSAIC, Hefner explains, aims to reduce subjectivity in those interpretations.

鈥淧opulation affinity is kind of considered the hardest component of the biological profile,鈥� Hefner said. 鈥淧opulation affinity, as it鈥檚 practiced today, is an estimation of where an individual fits into the great picture of the human population.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing now is we are taking the nuance out of the traits for population affinity, the traits for sex, the traits for age, and we鈥檙e putting them all into machine learning models,鈥� Hefner explained.

By comparing new data against what鈥檚 stored in the model, the program can estimate aspects of biological identity with a high degree of accuracy using advanced statistics. Experts then interpret those results.

Hefner encouraged students to study statistics for the future and to seize what opportunities were available to them on campus through their studies and partnerships.

Fortunately for Cullowhee鈥檚 next generation of forensic anthropologists, opportunities for field experiences abound, and students have access to an outdoor lab unlike almost any other.

The 鈥淔OREST鈥� or Forensic Osteology Research Station is 蘑菇短视频鈥檚 outdoor human decomposition research facility, the second oldest of its kind in the entire world. There, young scientists are examining the decay of organic matter over different times and different circumstances to broaden our understanding of how the human body changes after death.

Angela Dautartas, assistant professor and director of the FOREST, explained how this unique resource introduces students to the kind of forensic material they would normally encounter on their first forays into professional fieldwork.

鈥淲hat students actually get from that resource is a kind of hands-on training that is very, very difficult to replicate in any other way,鈥� Dautartas said. 鈥淎 lot of schools are able to offer courses like human osteology, which is an in-depth, really comprehensive study of the skeleton. We are able to do that as well, but because we have the decomposition facility, we also have the donated skeletal collection, which means our students get to see a lot more variation in the skeleton and work with actual human bone.

Members of the Cullowhee Fire Department partner with university faculty to perform a controlled burn of a structure containing a donated cadaver.

鈥淭hey work with bone that has decomposed outdoors, so it looks much more similar to what you would see in a forensic case if somebody has died outdoors and is not found for a while. Anatomical specimens are often bleached and cleaned in a very specific way, so there is no discoloration like you would see in an actual forensic context.鈥�

The presence of more modern skeletons in the collection, Dautartas explained, also means that students can get acquainted with evidence of modern surgeries on the skeleton.

This in-depth picture, provided so early on to students in their education, is an intentional confrontation of the demanding and rewarding realities of the work, an exercise in dismissing those first fears and examining the broader picture, and the purpose in the complicated routine of body processing.

鈥淚 think the most important thing to emphasize and spotlight is that in addition to viewing this as education and training for our students, we also very, very much view this as support and service that we can provide to the community,鈥� Dautartas said. 鈥淎nd for the people who choose to donate, we are grateful beyond what we鈥檙e capable of fully expressing. And we take our responsibility to them very, very seriously.

Forensic anthropology students and faculty use controlled burns to investigate how affects decomposition.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the things that we are also trying to instill in our students. And in our best students, we see that. We see that they also become very protective of these people in our collection as well and recognize that they need to care for them. We鈥檝e made a promise to them and to their families that we will care for their remains, that we will do everything we can to keep them safe, and that鈥檚 the human element of it.鈥�

The hundreds of hours of volunteer work also available to Catamounts in the program aim to bolster that most crucial understanding that, at the end of the day, forensic anthropology is rooted in giving back, a truth our students鈥� work in Durham exemplifies perfectly.

鈥淔orensic anthropology is there to help support the community in a lot of different ways, and in this particular case, we are helping our students who are in our community here at Western and their families, but also the much larger community around us, the state of North Carolina, cities in North Carolina, law enforcement communities 鈥� all of those,鈥� Best said.

鈥淚 think this speaks to the power and impact that forensic anthropology can have.鈥�

Senior Tayler Franklin, double majoring in forensic science and forensic anthropology, has made that power her own, and in helping to solve the Durham case, confirmed for herself the future that lay brightly ahead of her.

鈥淏eing able to participate in the search this past December was an incredible, yet humbling experience for me. I feel very honored that I was able to assist with such an endeavor, especially considering that the search was a successful one,鈥� Franklin said.

鈥淭hrough the forensic anthropology program at 蘑菇短视频, I have been lucky enough to discover what I feel is my calling in life: to bring families closure and peace of mind in times of death and uncertainty. Participating in this search only strengthened my passion for my calling, and I am extremely grateful to all the forensic anthropology faculty at 蘑菇短视频 for continuing to foster this growth in me as I approach graduation.鈥�

Senior forensic anthropology students continue to develop their skills right up until graduation through research in their final projects.

Monique Jalbert, a Rhode Island native graduating this fall, used her time on campus to get involved however she could.

鈥淲hen I first started, my professors made it very clear there are a lot of opportunities to volunteer at the forensic facilities. That includes on-call work, donor intake, processing in the lab, photo team and recovery teamwork. There are a lot of options throughout your time here,鈥� Jalbert said.

鈥淚n my senior year, I also applied for a work-study position. I worked in the osteology lab, helping monitor students and answer questions. I also did inventory work across classrooms and storage rooms 鈥� making sure everything was accounted for, functional and properly organized. There were also older documents from as far back as 2009, including burial documents from previous classes and local cemeteries. That was really interesting to see.鈥�

Jalbert followed her curiosity to the office of Diana Simpson, adjunct professor in the department of anthropology and sociology. Simpson was working with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, processing archived materials to recover anything earlier anthropologists had missed. Simpson and Jalbert are now collaborating on the effort, and Jalbert described how this simple sorting can lead to the long-deserved interment of forgotten remains.

鈥淲ith Dr. Simpson, we go through boxes of previously organized materials鈥攖hings like pottery shards, modified rock and other artifacts. Sometimes there are small bone fragments that were missed in earlier sorting. There are also animal remains mixed in with human remains depending on excavation sites. If we find something that appears human or uncertain, we separate it for further evaluation. We also separate animal remains like bears or dogs so they can be properly returned or handled respectfully,鈥� Jalbert said.

Though there鈥檚 still plenty of work to be completed, Jalbert feels accomplished to have played her part in what is an essential and spiritually significant transfer.

鈥淗elping with NAGPRA was a major goal of mine. It focuses on humanitarian work. Even though there鈥檚 a long-time gap between when these communities lived in this region and today, that doesn鈥檛 change the fact that these are individuals who deserve proper burial and to be returned to their communities if that is their wish,鈥� Jalbert said.

鈥淓ven though they can鈥檛 speak for themselves, we try to act in the interest of their communities. It gives me peace of mind to know I鈥檓 helping in that process.鈥�

Jalbert plans to work in a funeral home upon graduating before eventually pursuing a graduate degree.

Another student, Emma Lewis, is a junior triple-majoring in forensic anthropology, criminal justice and art. Her final project was a similar exploration of forensic anthropology鈥檚 power to give humanity and power back to those forgotten or ignored.

She described entering the FOREST for the first time as one of the most exciting things she鈥檚 ever done, and part of that joy came in connecting with the existential value of her work.

鈥淚 really enjoy forensic anthropology because I like giving names back to people. That鈥檚 what I want to do. I want to help identify people,鈥� Lewis said.

鈥淚 remember being really young and going to graveyards. It always bothered me when there weren鈥檛 names on the graves. Knowing there are unmarked graves鈥攐r people whose identities no one knows鈥攖hat upsets me.

鈥淚 like being able to give them that back, or at least to try to.鈥�

Lewis鈥� final project will attempt just that.

Inspired by classroom conversations on the use of ground-penetrating radar in climate change research, Lewis connected with professor Blair Tormey, coastal research scientist in the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at 蘑菇短视频, who has used the advanced and incredibly expensive technology across the region in his research.

鈥淏lair has one, and he uses it for campus projects and other research. He brought me over to look at it, and he said, 鈥業 have this project where we鈥檙e mapping one of the cemeteries. We can go out there, and I鈥檒l show you how it works on an actual site,鈥欌�� Lewis described.

鈥淚 thought that sounded amazing.鈥�

Tormey and Lewis traveled to Old Field Cemetery in Sylva in search of graves, aware that many Black and Indigenous individuals had been buried there without markers.

By rolling their GPR cart over these grave sites, sending radar waves four feet deep into the earth, they could see parabolic data that showed clearly the tops and bottoms of buried coffins.

鈥淎s I was walking around, I noticed depressions in the ground between some of those marked graves. I told Blair, 鈥楾here鈥檚 no GPR data for this spot right here.鈥� He said, 鈥楴o, no, no鈥攖here isn鈥檛 a coffin there.鈥� But I kept thinking, there鈥檚 no way,鈥� Lewis said.

鈥淪o I talked with one of my professors and said, 鈥業 think there are people missing from our known GPR data.鈥� She told me, 鈥楾hat would make a great independent study.鈥欌��

One-hundred twenty-four graves have been recorded in the segregated portion of the cemetery, but Lewis鈥� research asks how many more yet remain unmarked.

And evidence for Lewis鈥� hypothesis abounds when proper methods are used to identify the clues. Flowers grow unruly where they were once laid in mourning. By using a shovel and scraping to remove the topsoil, Lewis can still identify graves from the straight lines that once defined the grave shaft. She鈥檚 even been offered a dowsing rod by the head of the Jackson County Ethnographic Society.

Lewis will conduct her research in an independent study course in the upcoming fall semester.

The experience of flagging these long-forgotten graves and recognizing them in that way has profoundly informed Lewis鈥� professional ambitions. Through that hands-on, direct learning, Lewis discovered a new passion for humanitarian work and expanded her understanding of what it is to be of service, and even more broadly, of her own humanity.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to find your niche somewhere. You just have to explore a little. The more I learn about anthropology, the bigger it becomes. I thought it was just the study of people. It鈥檚 really not,鈥� she continued.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much to being human that most people never think about.鈥�

It鈥檚 passionate students like Jalbert and Lewis that prove 蘑菇短视频鈥檚 forensic anthropology program is on the right track and that Catamounts will continue to serve communities in Western North Carolina and beyond with the skill set they develop here in Cullowhee.