Clandestine Grave and Surface Remains Recovery
Likely the most realistic course you will ever attend. Real graves reconstructed from actual cases.
One of the best courses I have ever been to.
Very well thought out, well-planned, and executed course.
These types of investigations don’t happen often, so this kind of training is extremely useful.
Forensic Taphonomy Education and Research Project
Don’t miss your chance.
Class size is limited to allow for adequate hands-on involvement.
Register early to ensure a spot in this training.
Course Dates: September 21 – 24, 2026
Course Dates: April 12 – 15, 2027
Course Price: $575
NOTICE: This course is very realistic; students will come in contact with actual human cadavers. Please consider that when enrolling.
Comments from Satisfied Students
“In nearly 20 years of law enforcement experience, I have been to a lot of training. This course was one of the best courses I have ever attended. The realism of the course makes it highly beneficial. “
“I admit I was skeptical, the claim of realistic training I thought was an overhype. But I can admit I was wrong. The course was very real. The training is run as if this were a real case and a real recovery. I’ve never been to a better course in my career.”
“The course overall was amazing. I have to give high praise to the realism of the skeletal surface scatter and the graves. I’ve seen attempts at recreating surface scatter that have failed, Darren and his team does it right.”
“I think the real bodies in actual recreated graves set this course apart from any in the country. “
About the Clandestine Grave and Surface Remains Recovery Course
This course prepares medicolegal death investigators, coroners, and law enforcement personnel to lead and conduct buried and surface human remains recoveries that are operationally sound and legally defensible.
This is not an academic field school. This is investigator-driven training built around real cases, real failures, and real consequences.
Students work with real human remains in multiple recovery contexts while learning how recovery decisions directly affect cause and manner determinations, evidence admissibility, and courtroom testimony.
WHAT MAKES THIS COURSE DIFFERENT
Most recovery training focuses on how to excavate remains. This course focuses on who controls the scene, how decisions are made, and how those decisions hold up later.
Students are trained to:
- Establish and maintain investigative authority at complex recovery scenes
- Coordinate with anthropology, forensic specialists, and law enforcement without losing control of the investigation
- Recognize and avoid common recovery failures that damage cases
- Document recovery in a way that supports cause and manner determinations
- Make defensible decisions under limited staffing, time pressure, and imperfect conditions
This course is built around failure-based instruction, using real-world case errors as teaching tools.
COURSE CONTENT OVERVIEW
Instruction includes both classroom and intensive field work covering:
- Scene command and authority at buried and surface remains scenes
- Search strategy integration for clandestine graves and surface remains
- Grave recognition and site assessment
- Controlled excavation techniques for buried remains
- Surface remains recovery and documentation
- Skeletal and decomposed remains considerations
- Evidence recognition, preservation, and packaging
- Documentation strategies that withstand courtroom scrutiny
- Multidisciplinary scene management
- Case-based failure analysis and corrective decision-making
Field exercises involve hands-on recovery of real human remains under realistic operational conditions.
WHY ACADEMIC FIELD SCHOOLS ARE NOT ENOUGH
University-based programs excel at teaching anthropology.
They are not designed to teach:
- investigative authority,
- medicolegal decision-making,
- or courtroom accountability.
This course bridges that gap by training students to recover remains as investigators, not observers.
COURSE OUTCOME
Graduates leave this course prepared to:
- Lead buried and surface remains recovery scenes with confidence
- Make recovery decisions that protect the integrity of the investigation
- Defend their actions during internal review, prosecution, and court testimony
- Avoid preventable recovery errors that compromise cases
Topics covered Include:
- Forensic Anthropology in the Medicolegal System
- Human Remains Taphonomy
- Determination of Age-at-Death, Sex, Ancestry, and Stature
- Assessment of Bony Trauma
- Positive Identification of Unknown Human Remains
- Period Since Death
- Crime Scene Investigation on Unknown Human Remains
- Techniques for the Proper Recovery of Scattered and Buried Human Remains
- Determination of Human vs. Non-human Remains
- Forensic Entomology
Upon successful completion of this course, the attendee should be able to understand and implement the process for locating and documenting buried bodies and surface-scattered human remains; think critically about the types of experts needed to provide analyses integral to case resolution; and recommend personnel and equipment needs for exhumations and surface-scatter scenes.
Course Accreditation
This course is approved for continuing education credits by the Missouri Department of Public Safety POST commission, as well as the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI)
Course Location and Lodging
Forensic Taphonomy Education and Research Project.
Crawford County, Missouri
Airport: Lambert Field in St. Louis, Missouri (STL)
Recommended Lodging: Super 8 by Wyndham, 28 State Hwy P, Cuba, MO 65453 – 573-885-2087
Use the code Desth Investigation Academy to get the program room rate.
Special room rate:
Ask for the “Death Investigation Academy” Rate
Our Instructors
At Death Investigation Training Academy we believe in peer-to-peer training using the best-accredited instructors. All of our instructors and trainers are accredited in their specialized fields. Many are nationally known authors, speakers, trainers, and certified as expert witnesses. DITA instructors are either currently working in, or recently retired from, the disciplines they are instructing. It is our belief that the best instructors are hands-on and have direct knowledge of current trends, methods, and technological advances – as it applies to actual casework.
Darren Dake, D-ABMDI, CCI
Darren Dake is a law enforcement professional with 40 years of experience in criminal and medicolegal death investigations. Darren has worked in law enforcement investigations and as a senior investigator with the Coroner’s office for over 20 years. Darren is now the elected Coroner for the county he serves. This combined investigative experience has uniquely established Darren as an investigation expert, allowing him to consult and teach internationally on investigation practices and procedures.
Darren holds national certification as a Medicolegal Death Investigator through the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) and is a nationally certified criminal investigator and certified criminal investigations instructor.
Darren is also the director and senior instructor at the Death Investigation Training Academy.
Dr. Mark Beary PhD
Dr. Mark Beary is the consulting forensic anthropologist for the Boone County Medical Examiner’s Office, located in Columbia, Mo. He worked as a professional archaeologist for several years before entering the field of forensic anthropology. In 2005 he received his Master’s degree in Forensic and Biological Anthropology and in 2018 he received his Ph.D. in Anthropology with a focus in bioarchaeology and forensics. He has worked on numerous cases through the Boone County Medical Examiner’s Office over the past ten years. He has also worked directly with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to recover human remains from outdoor crime scenes and clandestine graves. His professional interests include forensic archaeology and outdoor crime scene recovery; forensic taphonomy including forensic entomology; development of biological profiles from human skeletal remains; and human skeletal trauma analysis.
Dr. Lindsay Trammell PhD, D-ABFA
Dr. Lindsay Trammell is the forensic anthropologist for the St. Louis County Office of the Medical Examiner. She has worked in that capacity for 14 years and until January 2022 concurrently worked as a medicolegal death investigator for the MEO and has Diplomate status with the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators. Dr. Trammell is a Diplomate with the American Board of Forensic Anthropology (ABFA) and currently serves on the Executive Board as ABFA Secretary. She additionally acts as the forensic anthropologist for the St. Louis City Medical Examiner’s Office and the Regional Office of the Medical Examiner which serves Franklin, Jefferson, and St. Charles County. Dr. Trammell provides consultation services to surrounding Missouri and Illinois County Coroner’s Offices and is a consulting member of Team Adam with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). She is an Adjunct Associate Professor for the Department of Pathology at St. Louis University and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Forensic Anthropology.
FAQs
How can I contact the organizer with questions?
Contact the organizer of this event at support@deathinvestigation.training
Can I pay by check or purchase order?
Yes – If your agency or government body wishes to register and pay by check or purchase order, register as normal and choose the pay-by-invoice option. Note: Credit cards cannot be used to satisfy an invoice.
What's the refund policy?
A full refund, minus any credit card or registration fees, if any, will be given up to 60 days before the start of training. If you cancel less than 60 days before the training, no refund can be given. However, the enrollment can be transferred to another member of your agency or used toward online training on our eLearning platform.
What is the credit card fee?
When using a credit card, a processing fee is applied to the final total. This fee helps reduce the need for increased enrollment prices for everyone.
Is the training within walking distance of any hotel?
No – Transportation will be required.
Disclaimer: The instructors, authors, and DITA make no warranty, expressed or implied, to the students attending this training and accept no responsibility for its use or application. The student assumes sole responsibility for determining the appropriateness of any suggested methodology, calculation, or investigative application, for any conclusions drawn from the results of its use, and for any actions taken or not taken as a result of analysis performed using this investigative training.