Nebraska’s climate helped investigators ID Tyler Goodrich quickly, forensic expert says

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Officials say Tyler Goodrich’s body was in a wooded area in Lincoln for more than a year.

When someone’s body is found months or even years after their disappearance, forensic science becomes a beacon of hope for families wanting answers.

“Sometimes these cases go cold for several decades or several years, and it’s the tenacity of the investigators that keep pushing it,” said William Belcher, a forensic anthropology professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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The process begins with a thorough examination of bones, and specific body markers are pivotal in the confirmation of identities.

In the case of Goodrich — whose body was found Saturday, about 16 months after his disappearance — Belcher said his tattoos helped investigators ID him.

Weather and climate can either help or hurt when it comes to preserving bodies.

Belcher said Nebraska’s ever-changing weather can slow down decomposition.

“The driving factors in decomposition is temperature and humidity,” he said. “Like yesterday, it was 70 degrees, and then today it’s in the 50s. So as we get fluctuations like that, you get the beginning of decomposition again, and then it slows back down again.”

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For families, knowing the fate of their loved one allows them to grieve, but Belcher said it’s a longer road than some may think.

“It’s always something difficult to accept when you have the finality of death of am individual, particularly one of your loved ones.” He said, “So people are carrying around this loss and lack of closure for decades. And so, it becomes a part of who you are, and it’s very hard to come to a conclusion.”

But he said the identification of a body can provide a sense of resolution.

It’s a feeling Belcher knows all too well.

His wife’s father had been missing since the late 1970s, but now, they have found his remains.

They did that through the NamUs database, which helps solve missing person cases by putting a name to unidentified remains.

Belcher said those with a missing loved one should sign up for a NAMUS profile.

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