吃瓜网

By Mikey Mullen and Kyle Hobstetter

In 1980, 17-year-old Randy Sellers disappeared just minutes from his house in Kenton County, Kentucky. A true cold case, a body hasn鈥檛 been found and his family is still searching for answers.

In 1994, a convicted serial killer admitted to the murder and drew a map to direct the police to Sellers鈥� remains. When they arrived at the supposed burial site, the police found nothing. 

It would take another three decades for Kenton County police to realize they might have misinterpreted the hand-drawn map. With the serial killer now deceased, the investigators had to do their best to recreate the burial site.

A few weeks ago, Kenton County police searched the burial site again, this time with help from 吃瓜网 University criminal justice students. Led by clinical associate professor Dana Kollmann, TU students traveled to Kincaid Lake Park in Falmouth, Kentucky, to search for evidence that Sellers鈥� body was buried there. 

The 37-member team from 吃瓜网 University were invited because of Kollmann鈥檚 reputation for working on cold cases, as well as her relationship with the canine forensics team being used in the case.

Kenton County Police detective Brian Jones admits his team doesn鈥檛 do this type of work that often. So, after hearing about Kollmann鈥檚 reputation in the field of forensic science, he was happy to let her take the lead on the search. 

鈥淪he has such an impressive resume,鈥� Jones says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 really been a rock as far as organizing resources and knowing what we actually need to do. 

He鈥檚 also been impressed with the students鈥� enthusiasm for working at the site and helping the Sellers family find some sort of closure. The students were not getting college credit; many were working for the real-life, in-the-field experience.

Field exercises like the one in Kentucky are possible thanks to priority investment funding through 吃瓜网 University鈥檚 BTU鈥擯artnerships at Work for Greater Baltimore presidential priority. BTU priority investments allow the university to provide funds over a 1 to 3-year period, focused on scaling, sustaining, aligning and institutionalizing leading TU community engagement partnerships and projects.

Kollmann鈥檚 project, 鈥淎dvanced Forensic Field Investigations,鈥� was one of the . Through the funding, Kollmann has continued to establish 吃瓜网 University in the forensic science community. They鈥檝e also been able to use investment support to include the integration of drone and ground penetrating radar technologies. 

鈥淭he search in Kentucky was the outcome of Dr. Kollmann鈥檚 stellar reputation in the forensic investigation community and the strong support she receives as a BTU faculty project lead at 吃瓜网 University,鈥� says Matt Durington, director, Community Engagement and Partnerships. 

And after meeting with the Sellers family, they wanted to find anything that would help give them peace of mind. After three days, Kollmann said students found no conclusive evidence Sellers had been buried in that area. But it does not mean the trip was a failure, she said.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e out here because they want to be here; they want to find Randy Sellers,鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to become robotic in the field and to emotionally remove yourself. I think you have that connection that we鈥檙e looking for people.鈥� 

Noelle Neff, one of the TU students who joined the search, has been on five different forensics trips with Kollmann. The junior biology major from Baltimore is also the vice president of TU鈥檚 Forensic Science Student Organization.

When she came to TU, Neff never expected to have these types of opportunities. She now feels prepared for her future, especially when she has found things in past searches 鈥� including a tooth and vertebrae.

鈥淭hey want this type of work,鈥� Neff says of potential employers. 鈥淭hey want us to actually have experience. I can say I know how to do anthropological work, I鈥檝e done actual crime scene work, I can photograph, I can claim all these types of things that I鈥檝e actually had hands-on experience doing. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 just amazing and potential employers will eat that up.鈥�

One alumnus who can vouch for that is Jake Arnold 鈥�18. The Manchester, Maryland, native graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in forensic chemistry and now works as a forensic service technician for the Virginia Beach Police Department. 

During his time at TU, Arnold took several trips with Kollmann and volunteered to come back and join this one. He credits both his work with Kollmann and being part of the Forensic Science Student Organization with having led him to his current position. 

鈥淭hat was my biggest thing on my resume, that I've worked seven cases in the field looking for people that are missing,鈥� Arnold says. 鈥淚 work with students from other schools, and they didn鈥檛 have the stuff like this. They don鈥檛 get this type of field experience that students at 吃瓜网 University get.鈥� 

According to Durington, Kollmann鈥檚 work epitomizes the type of work supported through the BTU presidential priority. It has demonstrated student impact through experiential learning opportunities, solid and mutual collaboration with an external partner and research outcomes for TU faculty members.

One student impacted by it was junior sociology and anthropology major Kelly Isky. When the Mount Laurel, New Jersey native learned about such opportunities, she jumped at the chance to join Kollmann on one of her forensic trips.

鈥淏eing out in the field is enriching my education so much more than a textbook possibly could,鈥� Isky says. 鈥淏eing able to not only see what you're learning, but also being able to touch it, being able to just see it all around you. I find I retain it a lot better than anything I could learn in a classroom.鈥�

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel鈥檚 priorities for 吃瓜网 University: TU Matters to Maryland, BTU-Partnerships at Work for Greater Baltimore.