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On a cold morning in December 2025, six forensic anthropology students from Western Carolina University entered the woods of Ellerbe Creek with five of their professors and a group of Durham Police Department officials. 

They combed the wilderness in a long line, slowly and methodically, searching for what small clues the forest floor kept. A piece of plastic. A length of fabric. What might鈥檝e been trash on another day, but now presented as evidence. 

It took hours, block by block on an expansive grid, until a somber moment of discovery broke their rote, when Kayleigh Best, director of the forensic anthropology program, happened to discover the remains of an individual Durham Police investigators had been searching for since 2023.

鈥淒ue to the assistance by everyone involved from WCU, we can bring closure to the family of the deceased, as well as clear a case, and obtain valuable experience in these types of cases,鈥� said Donald Hall, investigator with the DPD. 

鈥淲CU allowing staff and students to conduct these types of searches and investigations greatly assists law enforcement in locating additional remains. I can tell you from personal experience, the Durham Police Department would not have located these remains without the assistance and experience of 甜瓜视频app.

鈥淭he staff that I worked with from WCU were absolutely the most professional, respectful and experienced personnel I have ever worked with.鈥�

To incite the closure of such a case, to be directly involved in it, is a rare privilege, an act of service that career professionals aspire to. To experience it as a student is an even more unique opportunity, and one among many orchestrated by the faculty of WCU鈥檚 forensic anthropology department. 

After all, it鈥檚 not the first investigation WCU students have helped with, and it鈥檚 just one way students are learning now how they can serve their community as human scientists. 

鈥淔orensic anthropology at Western is actually an incredible experience for undergraduates, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to come here to Western,鈥� Best said. 鈥淏ecause we are one of a handful of programs that really gives students not just training and knowledge in the classroom, but we also really focus on hands-on experience.

鈥淚n all of our classes we try to give them the education training that they would need if they chose to go on to do forensic anthropology or into related fields, like law enforcement or medical examining or the forensic sciences. We have students that go into bioarcheology, that work in the funeral industry, that work in the medical field. So, we have a broad diversity of interests in the program, but we also do a lot of hands-on labs.鈥�

With such a wide variety of research scenarios available, students of the program are meant to be able to get comfortable with the multidisciplinary nature of their field while exploring at their own pace. And their explorations go far and wide, from the common standards of police and evidence work to the brink of scientific study. 

WCU retains a large collection of skeletons, used for research across the globe, that current students are studying to theorize new ways skeleton elements can reveal the identities of the deceased. 

At its taphonomic research facility, the second oldest in the entire world and colloquially dubbed the 鈥渂ody farm,鈥� young scientists are examining the decay of organic matter over different times and different circumstances, broadening our understanding of how the human body changes after death to microscopic levels.

The hundreds of hours of volunteer work also available to Catamounts in the program aims to instill that most crucial understanding that at the end of the day, forensic anthropology is about service.

鈥淔orensic anthropology is there to help support the community in a lot of different ways, and in this particular case, we are helping our students who are in our community here at Western and their families, but also the much larger community around us, the state of North Carolina, cities in North Carolina, law enforcement communities 鈥� all of that,鈥� Best said.

鈥淚 think this speaks to the power and impact that forensic anthropology can have.鈥�
Senior student Tayler Franklin, double majoring in forensic science and forensic anthropology, has made that power her own, and in helping to solve the Durham case, confirmed for herself the future that lay brightly ahead of her. 

鈥淏eing able to participate in the search this past December was an incredible, yet humbling, experience for me. I feel very honored that I was able to assist with such an endeavor, especially considering that the search was a successful one,鈥� Franklin said. 

鈥淭hrough the Forensic Anthropology program at WCU, I have been lucky enough to discover what I feel is my calling in life: to bring families closure and peace of mind in times of death and uncertainty. Participating in this search only strengthened my passion for my calling, and I am extremely grateful to all the Forensic Anthropology faculty at WCU for continuing to foster this growth in me as I approach graduation.鈥�

Find out more about WCU鈥檚 forensic anthropology program online.