A forensic perspective on the new disappeared: migration revisited

The high mortality rate of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea leaves the families of migrants who are missing in a similar predicament. This chapter frames the tragedy of missing migrants. It explores the problem of collecting data about missing migrants followed by a discussion about challenges in locating and/or identifying them. The chapter also explores the forensic tools and procedures at disposal to innovate the response and address the families' right to know. It looks at how taking a broader, non‐body centred approach to forensics may be relevant to searching for missing persons within other situations, including conflict, post‐conflict and disasters. It is important to understand that finite sets of variables are associated with individuals going missing in a given context; hence the category “missing” is an overarching term irrespective of the type of disappearance, and includes the dead.