Ultraviolet light search

Ultraviolet light has a number of applications in forensic analysis and search including authenticating paintings, illuminating trace evidence and fingerprints.  It can also be used during a search for skeletal remains.

Ultraviolet light is a form of electromagnetic radiation that has a shorter wavelength (between 10 and 400 nm) than the visible light spectrum and is naturally present in sunlight.  It is used in various ways such as blacklights in bars, sunbeds and portable torches that can be used in forensics. The radiating energy produced from the source will cause a fluorescence in certain substances and this can be seen in the form of visible light.  Bone fluoresces under UV light and therefore it can be used as a technique during night time search and recovery.  In theory fluorescing bone can be easily identified and while this technique can be very useful, in practice it can prove slightly more challenging to identify skeletal material in inhospitable

terrain.  UV light can help identify fragments of bone that may not have been identified during a daytime search and vice versa.

It remains that the use of UV light for the search purposes may be utilised in conjunction with other daytime search methods as a way of maximising the collection of evidence however more published research is needed in this area.