By Michael Yoder, Retired FBI Criminal Profiler
Trash can help solve crime. Maybe not in small towns such as Destin or Fort Walton Beach, but in major metropolitan cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, understanding the conveyance of trash can be an investigative tool in finding a missing person who is the victim of a homicide. Anywhere there are low-income communities, a shortage of automobiles, severe physical domestic issues or intense stressors, there is a likelihood that an offender will use the trash system to efficiently hide a body, body parts or items used in a homicide.
Think about your own trash for a second. What happens to it once it leaves your curbside? You know that a sanitation truck picks up your garbage. Do you know the route of that sanitation truck? Do you know where the truck ends up? The conveyance of trash is a modern-day miracle of our society that moves tons of unwanted items from a home to a landfill. It is invisible and efficient.
The modern waste disposal system is a highly-scientific and rigorously-managed operation to keep our environment clean. Let’s say, hypothetically, you are a homicide investigator, and you arrive at a crime scene immediately after a person is reported missing and you suspect it’s a homicide. You make a quick assessment and guess that the trash was just picked up by the local garbage truck. Would you be able to find the route of that truck and follow it to its next stop so that you could cordon off the items in the truck for a thorough search?
A normal truck can fit approximately 10-12 tons of compressed garbage in its container. While that is a lot of garbage, it’s better than hundreds of tons of garbage that may end up in a land fill. The good news is that these sanitation trucks are on a pre-planned and standard route and have a GPS tracking its movement. Once it is filled, the truck goes to a nearby transfer station where the garbage is dumped and sorted. The garbage is sorted in a specific location at the transfer station which is recorded by GPS within 10 meters accuracy.
Finally, the trash is reloaded onto a truck and sent to a landfill. Again, the location of where that specific truck is offloaded is recorded by GPS to within 10 meters accuracy. Here’s the tricky part: since landfills are finite spaces, the landfill manager must eventually stack loads on top of each other—thereby creating a three-dimensional record of trash. In larger metropolitan cities, the overlay is frequent, and the trash is deep, unlike smaller districts. If a search is not conducted immediately and there is a risk of overlay, the chance for a successful recovery becomes exponentially smaller.
Therefore, the key to a homicide investigator’s search for a body or body parts that have been possibly disposed of in trash is to first determine when the trash was picked up. Next, the investigator can dispatch a team of search and rescue personnel who have had specialized training in landfill operations. These team members wear full anti-bacterial Tyvek suits to safely comb through sections of 10-12 tons of compressed trash, regardless of weather conditions. The estimated cost for this operation can become exorbitant, reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars for every week of the operation, with no guarantee of success.
I have participated in a homicide investigation of a missing three-year-old child that incorporated a successful landfill operation. The crime occurred in a medium-sized city. The investigation showed signs of poverty, lack of a car, out-of-control issues, severe domestic issues among the two adult caretakers, drug use and child abuse. Finding the child’s body was critical and led to a successful prosecution of the stepfather and the mother. Despite the lies told to investigators, the autopsy confirmed that the child had been physically abused and did not die accidentally.
When a missing person is suspected to be a homicide, investigators should immediately consider trash recovery options. Quick action is critical for success, and while challenging, the potential to find the missing person is rewarding. If landfill recovery is needed, plan carefully, address health risks and coordinate with landfill staff. For guidance, contact the FBI or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Interested in true crime and want to learn how to be a sleuth? Join the Destin True Crime Club on Facebook! We meet monthly to research a real cold case and brainstorm investigative ideas. It’s a serious—but fun—group for those passionate about solving cases. For questions or speaking requests on violent crime topics, email myoder0361@gmail.com.
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