Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Haunted Desert

She was found a decade ago, in a ravine at the bottom of Sycamore Canyon in Yavapai Canyon, Arizona. She had already been dead about a year. She was 9 months pregnant, had on Gap jeans, a solar shield from a recent eye surgery. Her clothes matched, she was well dressed. She was from between 5 foot 2 inches to 5 foot 5 inches tall. She had a straw hat, purple hair clip, a hooded sweat shirt and a day bag. Her black, green and blue bathing suit hung from a tree. Not the description of your typical unclaimed body.

What happened? How did she get there? Was she left to die by the babies father? Was she unable to climb out? Was the bathing suit hung from the tree as a help signal?

Her remains are one of 150 people that Laura Fulginiti, forensic anthropologist stores at her downtown Phoenix office.