Trail of Bones: More Cases from the Files of a Forensic Anthropologist

15. Space Shuttle Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia N Saturday, February i, 2003, at about 8:00 A.M., I remembered that I planned to go outside my house in Baton Rouge to see if I could view the space shuttle Columbiagoing by overhead. It was returning to earth that morning after a sixteen-day mission with its seven astronauts. I never saw it. Soon thereafter, I heard the unbelievable news that it had broken apart in flames. News accounts reported that NASA had lost communication with Columbiasomewhere over California at an altitude above 200,000 feet. Columbiawas thought to be traveling at six times the speed of sound. Ultimately, we would learn that debris from the ship fell to the ground over hundreds of miles of countryside, mainly in Texas and Louisiana. Witnesses had heard a big bang and saw flames in the sky. All seven aboard were lost. Among them were six American astronauts : Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Rick Husband, and William McCool. The seventh was Ilan Ramon, Israel 's first astronaut. Our country was in shock once again. We were still reeling from the September n attacks just a year and a half before and simply could not believe a tragedy of such magnitude could occur to our astronauts, whose smiling, happy faces we had all seen over and over again as they headed for the shuttle and for the stars. Prior to the shuttle disaster, I had only recently completed the procedures for joining a federal disaster team known as the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT). At the time, DMORTwas a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. We are now with Homeland Security under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 0 15 Space Shuttle Columbia 123 DMORT membership is restricted to certain professionals across the country who possess the skills required to aid the federal government in mass disasters. The teams are made up of pathologists, nurses, hazardous materials experts, funeral home directors, forensic odontologists, forensic anthropologists, and other specialists who can assist with the recovery and identificationof victims of mass disasters including natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, and man-made disasters such as the September n terrorist attacks. Though I was not a member of DMORT in 2001 and, because of that, could not assist at the World Trade Center, the Pennsylvania hillside crash site, or the Pentagon, I decided that I wanted to join DMORT in the off chance that I could assist if and when a time I might be needed came again. DMORT teams are assigned to regions. Region 6 includesLouisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arkansas. If a disaster occurs within our region or any other region where our expertiseis needed, we must be ready to deploy on a moment's notice, similar to the National Guard. Our bags must always be packed and ready to go with enough clothing and other items to last for a minimum of two weeks. Little did I know that I would be needed so soon. Several days had passed since the shuttle accident had occurred, and no word had come out of Texas about what was happening there. Like any citizen, I looked for news about the crash and wondered what condition the bodies might be in if they were found. Everywhere I went, people asked me if I knew what was happening in Texas. I gave them an honest answer: "I have no idea." Out of the blue, late on the afternoon of February 7, six days after the accident, Chuck Smith reached me in the FACES Lab. I had known Chuck for twenty years or more when he worked as a senior coroner's investigator at the local coroner's office. Currently, he is a deputy commander for .Region 6 of the DMORT teams. "Mary, we need you and we need you now," he said. "Can you come today?" I said, "Sure I can. What about Ginny Listi?" Ginny had joined the DMORT team at the same time I had. "Let me check and get back with you," Chuck said. "We already have 124 T R A I L OF B O N E S Julie Powers coming out of New Mexico." I knew Julie. She and I had often chatted at the annual conference of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, to which we both belonged. Julie also had worked at the World...