UNL professor, students help in search for missing woman

More than just an interesting experience, it's a deeply touching one for students.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – When the big search effort started last month, 65 volunteers were there to help look for Linda Dillard, who has been missing for nearly ten months.

Some of those volunteers brought with them skills they’ve honed on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.

An associate professor of anthropology at UNL, Dr. Bill Belcher has extensive experience searching for human remains.

“The State Patrol reached out to me and asked initially if I wanted to be out there on an on-call basis,” he said.

He wouldn’t be going alone, however. Belcher gave his students the opportunity to assist in the search.

“It was good experience for them, and it also was what in the military we would call a ‘force multiplier,’ ” Belcher, formerly with the Department of Defense, explains. “It enabled us to have qualified students that could distinguish human and non-human bone on these teams and follow up with that.”

The students certainly ran with the opportunity. Gabrielle Mace is in her second year of graduate studies and relishes what she hopes are glimpses into her professional future.

“It was really cool to work with so many different people with different expertise, like the law enforcement and the dog handlers,” she said. “It was kind of cool to collaborate with so many people and see them all come together.”

Of course, it isn’t just a neat experience. It’s a deeply touching one.

“The family was there at the search, so that was kind of humbling,” Mace explains. “It kind of brings you back to earth, like, this isn’t just science. We’re doing this for people and for their living relatives. It definitely isn’t just business.”

Mace paused and added, “I think you have to have that human side to it. Otherwise, I’m not sure why you’re doing it.”

While the teams may have come up empty on this particular effort, it further helps them to hone their skills so that they might be able to help more families who want answers.