Tag Archives: Forensic

WHAT’S YOUR MYERS-BRIGGS PERSONALITY TYPE?

A20“The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) is the best known and most trusted personality assessment in the world. It’s helped develop effective work teams, build stronger families, and create successful careers. The MBTI assessment improves quality of life for you and your organization. Giving you this personalized way to take the assessment fulfills our mission: bringing lives “closer to our heart’s desire.”

A8This descriptor is from the home page of the Myers-Briggs Foundation—an organization that furthers the 1940’s work of psychologists Katharine Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs-Myers who futhered Carl Jung’s theory. They categorized people into four principal psychological functions by which humans experience the world—sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking—and that one of these four functions is dominant for a person most of the time.

Sounds familiar… I took this personality test a few years ago and jotted the score in my notebook. Hmmm… might make a good blog topic so I’ll take it again and compare to the old score… lemme take another look at what this thing’s all about.

Myers & Briggs developed an “introspective, self-report questionnaire designed to indicate psychological preferences and typing how people perceive the world and make decisions”.

A6Paraphrasing from Wikepedia (this is not-so-exciting stuff – promise it’ll get livlier) — “Carl Jung’s typology theories postulated a sequence of 4 cognitive functions (thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition), each having 1 of 2 polar orientations (extraversion or introversion), giving a total of 8 dominant functions. The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by Jung understandable and useful in people’s lives.” (I hope so, because this is a pretty wordy explanation.)

The theory’s essence is that seemingly random variation in behaviors is actually quite orderly and consistent, due to basic differences in the ways individuals use their perception and judgment.

Wiki goes on “Perception involves ways of becoming aware of things, people, happenings, or ideas. Judgment involves ways of coming to conclusions about what’s been perceived. If people differ systematically in what they perceive, and in how they reach conclusions, then it is only reasonable for them to differ correspondingly in their interests, reactions, values, motivations, and skills.”

Okay. Starting to make sense to me. Tell me more about these 8 functions.

A14“In developing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the aim was to make the insights of type theory accessible to individuals and groups. They addressed 2 related goals in the developments and application of the MBTI instrument:

  • The identification of basic preferences of each of the four dichotomies specified or implicit in Jung’s theory.

  • The identification and description of the 16 distinctive personality types that result from the interactions among the preferences.”

Whoa. 16? Thought there was 8? Not following the math.

“Stick with us,” they said. “We evolved  — 4X4=16.”

Huh?

A17

 “We took Jung’s base and turned it into four questions:

  • What’s your favorite world? — Do you prefer to focus on the outer world, or on your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I).

  • How do you absorb information? — Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in, or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).

  • How do you make decisions? —  When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency, or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).

  • How do you structure? — In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided, or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

A9When you decide on your preference in each category, you have your own personality type, which is expressed as a four letter code. The 16 personality types of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument are listed here as they are often shown in what is called a “type table”. Casually, they’re grouped into four personalities:

Analysts

A15INTJ — Architect —  Imaginative & strategic thinkers with a plan for everything.

INTP — Logician — Innovative inventors with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

ENTJ — Commander — Bold, imaginative, and strong-willed leaders who will find or make a way.

ENTP — Debater — Smart and curious thinkers who cannot resist an intellectual challenge.

Diplomats

A26INFJ — Advocates — Quiet and mystical, yet very inspiring and tireless idealists.

INFP — Mediator — Poetic, kind, and altruistic, always eager to help a good cause.

ENFJ — Protagonist — Charismatic and inspiring leaders who are able to mesmerize followers.

ENFP — Campaigner — Eager, creative, and socially free-spirits who always find a way to smile.

Sentinals

A25ISTJ — Logicistian — Practical and fact minded individuals who’s integrity cannot be doubted.

ISFJ — Defender — Very dedicated and warm protectors, always ready to protect loved ones.

ESTJ — Executive — Excellent administrators, unsurpassed at managing things and people.

ESFJ — Consul — Extraordinarily caring, social and popular people, always ready to help.

Explorers

A28ISTP — Virtuoso — Bold and masterful experimenters, handy with all kinds of tools.

ISFP — Adventurer — Flexible and charming artists, always wanting to explore or experience something new.

ESTP — Entrepreneur — Smart, energetic, and highly perceptive people who truly enjoy living on the edge.

ESFP — Entertainer — Spontaneous, enthusiastic, and energetic people; life is never boring around them.

Interesting, I thought. I’ll take the test again and show DyingWords followers what makes me tick. So I googled around and found three different FREE approaches to the M-B test and took them all:

I also checked the Myers-Briggs site at http://www.myersbriggs.org/ but they want $150 to sign-in, although it comes with an hour of shrink time.

So how’d I make out?

INTJ — Every frikkin’ time, including the one I did a few years ago.

So how accurate is it? You be the judge. Here’s my INTJ psychological diagnosis from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator:

A5The INTJ personality type is the Introverted Intuition with Extraverted Thinking type. Individuals that exhibit the INTJ personality type are knowledgeable, inventive, and theoretical, whether they’re working on long-term personal goals or creative projects in their professions. They are “big-picture” thinkers, creating constructive ambitions and planning for them accordingly. Myers-Briggs test INTJ types hold a clear idea of what they would like to accomplish in their future, and they use that vision as motivation to complete all of the necessary steps to obtain their dreams. This dedication to their visions and their ability to find ways to achieve them make INTJ types high-functioning employees:
  • Their looking-towards-the-future mentality helps them to create original and inspiring ideas for companies, as well as a well-thought-out plans for achieving these goals.
  • Value the intellectual ability of themselves and those of others, and place a high importance on it.
  • Can be adamant and commanding when the professional environment requires a certain level of authority.
  • Because of their ability to think long-term, they are often placed in (or place themselves in) authoritative positions in business and groups.
  • Quick to find solutions to challenges, whether that requires basing their solutions on pre-conceived knowledge or finding new information to base their decisions off of.
  • Can relate newly gathered information to the bigger picture.
  • Enjoy complicated problems, utilizing both book and street smarts (logical and hypothetical ideas) to find solutions.

They’re Strong Planners With Great Follow-Through

A21INTJ personality types are long-term goal-setters, creating plans to bring their goals to completion, and then following this plan using thought-out approaches and procedures devised by the INTJ. They are self-reliant, individualistic, and self-secure. INTJ personality types have a large amount of faith in their own competence and intelligence, even if others openly disagree or the opposite proves true. This also makes Myers-Briggs Type Indicator-assessed INTJ types their own worst critics, as they hold themselves to the highest standards. They dislike turbulence, perplexity, clutter, and when others waste their time and/or energy on something unimportant. This MBTI type is also succinct, analytical, discerning, and definitive.
A24In their personal lives, Myers-Briggs test INTJ types exhibit many of the same behaviors that they do in their professional lives. They expect competence from their peers and are more than willing to share their intelligence or ideas with those around them. Occasionally, INTJ personality types may find it difficult to hold their own in social situations, whether that is due to their actions or their opinions. To others, MBTI Assessment  Test -assessed INTJ types seem set in their ways or opinions because of their high respect for themselves, but oftentimes reality is just the opposite, with the INTJ type taking in new tidbits of information at all times, evaluating their own opinions and ideas accordingly. They are also often seen as a tad distant, closed off from others emotionally but not intellectually.

Sometimes INTJ Types Are Too Confident

A10This distance associated with this MBTI test-assessed personality type can occasionally progress to the point of negativity. INTJ types can close themselves off so much that they stop revealing what they are thinking/how they are coming to certain conclusions, which can make it seem as though they are simply rushing through a task. They can often do just that—jumping to underdeveloped endings without considering all new or present information. This flaw can also cause Myers-Briggs test assessed INTJ types to overlook important data and facts necessary to achieve their goals.
Their high level of competence coupled with their big-picture way of thinking can sometimes cause problems for this Myers-Briggs type. Because so many of their ideas are long-term, INTJ type ideas can occasionally lack the ability to fully come to fruition.
A31In their relationships with others, MBTI Test-assessed INTJ Personality Types may come off as judgmental, especially to those who aren’t as openly enthusiastic about the INTJ types ideas or intelligence. If they feel that  others are not viewing them as highly as they view themselves, there is also a chance that they will not necessarily provide the level of feedback that that individual may need. However, by concentrating on developing their Sensing and Feeling, the INTJ type may fashion more intimate connections with their peers, spending less time in their heads and more time engaging with the world around them.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator INTJ personality type uses their big-picture thinking along with their logical problem-solving skills to succeed in a variety of occupations, usually those requiring scientific reasoning/understanding and those that involve building or creating something scientifically tangible. For these reasons, Myers-Briggs Test assessed INTJ types often find themselves choosing careers such as plant scientist, engineer, medical scientist, internist, or architect. MBTI test INTJ types also find themselves leaning towards those professions that require them to hold an authoritative position or a leadership role, such as a management consultant or a top executive.
A27To be successful in these problem-solving careers, Myers-Briggs test INTJ types must learn to consider short-term goals and opportunities as well as their already over-arching, long-term goals. This can include immediate priorities, career choices that the INTJ values but may not consider rational, and present values that INTJ type may be neglecting in favor of their long-term vision. Creating immediate and long-reaching goals for yourself can help you level your thinking and focus more on the moment.
Furthermore, this MBTI personality type may have a hard time dealing with sudden life changes or events. By allowing yourself time to think about immediate goals and surprising situations without focusing solely on the long-term outcome, you can be ready for unforeseen circumstances that may come their way.
A34One of the most important strategies that the Myers Briggs Type Indicator test INTJ type can implement to be successful in the workplace is to open themselves up to new people, new experiences, and new ideas. If you find yourself closed off or antisocial in the work environment, slowly opening yourself to other networks and creating personal relationships with those around you can help you become a more well-rounded employee.

How accurate is this?

Actually, it makes me look like a bit of an asshole. Far from perfect. A  bit of a get-er-dun prima-donna when, in fact, my biggest criticism over the years is that I’m too nice of a guy for my own good. Anyway, it was a good mental exercise which made me think for awhile, and I got a kick outa being matched with notable characters with the same personality. Factual ones were Rudy Giuliani, John F. Kennedy, and Hannibal— leader of the Carthaginians. Fictional characters were the protagonist and antagonist in Silence Of The Lambs, Clarise Starling and…. yeah — Hannibal Lector.

So I challenge you. You can have a FREE psychological analysis just like mine. Go ahead and take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® Test at:

At very least, it’s a buncha fun. C’mon DyingWords group. Take the test ‘n tell us who you are!

MB Test

CAN YOU BEAT THE POLYGRAPH?

A1The polygraph, or lie detector, is a forensic investigative tool that’s used as an aid to verify the truthfulness of a person’s statements. Polygraph examinations— properly conducted by trained professionals on competent subjects with a clear issue— are remarkably accurate, but they’re not foolproof. Yes. They’ve been known to be beaten. The question is—can you?

Polygraph examination interpretation is not admissible as evidence in court. They’re not a replacement or shortcut for a proper investigation and a thorough interview of the subject. Statistics show that the majority of people who undergo polygraph examinations are found to be truthful. Perhaps the term Lie Detector should be replaced with Truth Verifier.

A3In my policing career, I’ve been involved in well over a hundred polygraph examinations, including getting hooked up myself for a test drive. (Turns out I’m a terrible liar—not sure how I’m gonna make out with this new career as a fiction writer.) The subjects I’d had polygraphed were a mixture of suspects, witnesses, complainants, and victims. I’d say that sixty percent of the subjects were truthful, thirty percent were lying, and ten percent were inconclusive.

It makes sense, when you think about it, that the majority are truthful because they know it will work to their advantage. I can’t think of the number of times I’ve had subjects refuse to take the test, giving excuses everywhere from “Those things are rigged to frame me” to “I heard you get testicle cancer from it”.

Before giving you some tips on how to pass a polygraph when you’re dead-ass lying, let’s look at what the thing is and how it works.

A2The word polygraph comes from the Greek word polugraphos which means “to sniff-out bullshit”. (Go ahead—call me a liar). Polygraphs have been around since the 1920s and have evolved from clunky paper-reel with ink-pen devices to modern laptops with automated scoring systems. Clinically, the process is known as psychophysiological detection of deception.

The instruments are a combination of medical devices that monitor a subject’s physiological responses to a set of questions designed to put the subject under the stress; the stress associated with deception. The involuntary bodily functions include heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, galvanic skin conduction, and perspiration.

A4Polygraphic theory dictates that a subject will show a spike in some, or all, of these functions when asked a question and forced to knowingly lie. In a criminal investigation, the examination questions are formed between the polygraphist and the subject during an extensive pre-test interview.

There are four categories of questions—all must be answered  “Yes” or “No”. Three categories are control questions and one is issue questions.

Category One is where the subject conclusively knows they’re truthful:

Q — Is your name Garry Rodgers?  “Yes”
Q — Are you a retired police officer?  “Yes”
Q — Did you make the Amazon Top Ten list? “Yes”

Category Two is asking the subject ambiguous questions:

Q — Is there life after death?  “Yes”
Q — Did the chicken come before the egg? “No”
Q — Are you going to make the Top Ten list again?  “Dude, let me tell ya…”

Category Three has the subject intentionally lie:

Q — Were you kidnapped by aliens?  “Yes”
Q — Did you ever ride a camel?  “No”
Q — Are you going to try make the Top Ten list again?  “No”

Category Four deals with the issues:

Q — Did you murder Jimmy Hoffa?  “No”
Q — Do you know who murdered Jimmy Hoffa?  “No”
Q — Did  murdering Jimmy Hoffa help you get on the Top Ten list?  “It’s not how it looks…”

A7Only “Yes” or “No” answers are acceptable during a polygraph examination because the issue has to be clear in the subject’s mind. Black and White. All clarification is worked-out in the pre-test interview. The subject is never surprised by the question, but the question order is completely unknown. This creates an atmosphere of anxiety as the subject waits to hear the questions that really matter.

The biggest concern that I’ve heard from people who are asked to submit to a polygraph is “What happens if I’m nervous?”

A8This is expected. Anyone, police officers included, would experience anxiety when being examined. Part of a polygraphist’s skill is to build a rapport with the subject and put them at relative ease before the questioning starts. One of the reasons in building this rapport is to get the subject to volunteer information that the investigation hasn’t uncovered. I’ve seen subjects give critical facts because the right questions weren’t asked during the investigation and I’ve seen subjects fall apart and confess before being strapped into the chair.

The key to successful polygraph examinations is the skill of the examiner. The polygraph is just a tool—an extension of the examiner’s mind and voice.

A6So — given there’s proven science and skill behind polygraphs — how can you beat one?

Like I said, given a professional examiner, a competent subject, and a clear issue, polygraph results are remarkably accurate. There’s always exceptions and here’s some tips on how to pass the graph.

  • Prepare well in advance.
  • Research and understand the process so you won’t feel oppressed. The examiner will take every advantage of your ignorance.
  • Know the issue(s) and know what the examiner is looking for.
  • Talk to someone who has experienced a test.
  • Approach the test as an extreme job interview. ‘Dress for the job’. Arrive on time. Sober. Rested. Do not reschedule. Make a good first impression.
  • Know that you’re going to be video recorded.
  • Understand the test starts right when you arrive and ends when you leave. It’s not just the time you’re hooked to the machine.
  • Be on guard. There will be trick questions in the pre-test. It’s part of the process.
  • Listen carefully to what the examiner says and respond accordingly. Do not try and monopolize the conversation.
  • The examiner is not your friend, despite how nice she comes across in the pre-test. Her job is to get to the truth. Remember—you’re dealing with a highly trained professional who knows psychology. If her exam shows you’re deceitful, she’ll go for your jugular in the post-test.
  • Recognize the relevant and irrelevant control questions. Focus on what’s relevant and do not offer more information than what’s pertinent to the issue.
  • Play dumb. Don’t try to impress the examiner that you’ve studied up. You’ll only look stupid.
  • Breathe normally. Shortness of breath naturally triggers the other body functions to accelerate and it will increase nervousness.
  • Take lots of time to answer.
  • Think of something mentally stressful when answering a control question—like the time when you were a kid and your dog was hit by the train. That will raise the ‘normal’ graph peaks.
  • Think of something calming when answering issue questions—like getting a new puppy. That will flatten stress peaks.
  • Keep your eyes open during the questions. The examiner will ask you to close them because this significantly alters your sensory awareness and puts you at a disadvantage. This is very important.
  • Bite your tongue during every question except the truthful control ones. This levels the playing field.

So, who’s got away with taking a lie detector?

A10I call her The Mother From Hell. I investigated a bizarre case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy—a rare form of child abuse where a parent causes harm to their child to bring attention to themselves. This woman repeatedly complained that her infant daughter was choking, then was caught by hospital staff with her hands on the girl’s neck. She denied it. We polygraphed her. She blew the needles off the machine and confessed. The Mother From Hell got off in court because they ruled her confession inadmissible due to it being elicited under oppression from the polygraph examination.

A12Gary Ridgway, The Green River Killer from Seattle, strangled over fifty women in the 1980’s. He was on police radar early in the serial killing investigation, ‘passed’ a polygraph, and got warehoused as a suspect. He went on to kill many more before being caught on DNA.

Can you beat the polygraph?

The best advice I can give is don’t take one.

WHO WAS THE MAD TRAPPER OF RAT RIVER?

AA3Albert Johnson, known as the Mad Trapper of Rat River, was a murderer and a fugitive from the largest manhunt in the history of Canada, leading a posse of Mounties through the Arctic on a six week, winter wilderness chase in 1932. He killed one Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and wounded two others before dying from police bullets in a firefight on a frozen river. Today, the Mad Trapper tale is symbolic of the North American frontier. He is an icon. A legend. But was he really Albert Johnson? Find out what modern forensic science tells us.

AA14The story began on July 9th, 1931, in the Northwest Territories when a stranger arrived in Fort McPherson. Constable Edgar Millen of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police routinely questioned the newcomer who identified himself as ‘Albert Johnson’ but provided no other personal information. Millen satisfied his responsibility to ensure Johnson was equipped for survival in a frontier land with sufficient money and supplies but thought it odd that Johnson declined to buy a trapping license. He noted Johnson was slight of stature, clean in appearance, and spoke with a Scandinavian accent.

Albert Johnson ventured far into the McKenzie Delta and built a small, log cabin on the banks of the Rat River where he reclused. Come the winter, local natives found their traps being raided and concluded the only suspect was Albert Johnson. They complained to the RCMP in Aklavik, causing two Mounties to dog-sled 60 miles through waist-deep snow, arriving at Johnson’s cabin on December 26th, 1931. Johnson was there but refused to speak, forcing the police to return to Aklavik and get a search warrant.

On December 31st four Mounties returned to Rat River. As they attempted to force into Albert Johnson’s shack, he shot at them with a 30-30 Savage rifle, seriously wounding a constable. The police retreated to form a larger posse.

AA1They came back with nine, heavily-armed men, forty-two dogs, and twenty pounds of dynamite. Johnson again opened fire, causing the police to hurl in explosives which blew the cabin apart. Rather than himself also being in pieces, Johnson emerged from a foxhole under the cabin and blasted back with his rifle. A 14-hour standoff, in -40F temperatures, took place until the posse backed-off to Aklavik for more help.

A severe blizzard delayed the return, but on January 14th, 1932, a huge squad of police and civilians arrived to find Albert Johnson long gone. The pursuers caught up with Johnson two weeks later far up the Rat River where Johnson opened fire from a thicket of trees on the bank and shot Constable Edgar Millen dead. Again the police retreated.

AA11By now the news of the manhunt had reached the outer world through an emerging medium called radio. Listeners all over Canada, the United States, and the world, were fixed to their sets to hear the latest on the cat and mouse game between a lone, deranged bushman and the might of the famed Canadian Mounties who ‘always got their man’. It was like the OJ Simpson case of the time.

The ‘Arctic Circle War’ represented the end of one era and the beginning of another as the police turned to technology to capture Albert Johnson. They embedded radio into another new tactic – the airplane. World War One flying ace W.R. ‘Wop’ May and his Bellanca monoplane were hired to find Johnson from the air and radio his position to the dogsled and snowshoe team on the ground.

On February 14, May spotted Johnson on the Eagle River in the Yukon Territory, confirming Johnson had traveled an incredible 150 miles, crossing a 7,000-foot mountain pass in white-out conditions, in temperatures with windchill hitting 60 below Fahrenheit. He’d eluded his trackers by wearing snowshoes backward and mingling with migrating caribou herds.

AA7The police overtook Johnson on a river bend on February 17th, 1932. It ended in a mass of bullets leaving another Mountie seriously wounded and Albert Johnson, the Mad Trapper of Rat River, dead on the snow.

They sledded Johnson’s body back to Aklavik where it was examined, fingerprinted, and photographed. Remarkably, dental examination showed sophisticated, gold bridgework which indicated this man, age estimated at 35 – 40, came from an affluent background. In his effects was $2,410 in Canadian money (worth $34,000 today) but absolutely no documents on his identification. An extensive investigation ensued to find his true identity. His death photos and description were circulated word wide, causing some leads to come in, but nothing definite. No one came forward to claim the body and ‘Albert Johnson’ was buried in a perma-frost grave near the village of Aklavik.

Here are the GPS coordinates for significant Mad Trapper locations.

These latitudes and longitudes can be plugged into iTouch Maps for satellite viewing. https://itouchmap.com/latlong.html

  1. Cemetery / Gravesite at Aklavik:   +68.222979N   -135.010579W
  2. Trapper’s Cabin on Rat River:  +67.713444N  –135.127873W
  3. Settlement of Fort McPherson:  +67.436700N  -134.88100W
  4. Richardson Mountain Pass:  +67.278236N  -136.122161W
  5. Eagle River Death Scene:  +67.165926N  -137.172716W

AA12The Mad Trapper case was of enormous public interest, many sympathizing how a loner – almost super-human – could endure the environment, living off the land for forty-eight days and outwitting some of the most bush-wise and toughest people of the time. As with the mystery of Albert Johnson’s identity, so was the question of his motive.

Over the years, a number possible identities were offered for who ‘Albert Johnson’ really was.

AA8The most widely accepted theory was Arthur Nelson, a prospector who was known to be in British Columbia from 1927 to 1931 and had left for the Arctic. Photos of Nelson appeared to be a dead-ringer for ‘Albert Johnson’ and descriptions of Nelson’s effects (rifle, pack, and clothing) were identical to those recovered from Johnson.

Another promising lead was a man known as John Johnson, a Norwegian bank robber who’d done time in Folsom Prison. Again, the physical description was similar and the Scandinavian accent noted by Constable Millen seemed to fit.

The Johnson family of Nova Scotia identified the Mad Trapper as their lost relative, Owen Albert Johnson, who was last heard of in British Columbia in the late 1920’s. Again all the pieces fit – physical appearance, personal effects, and disposition.

AA6Sigvald Pedersen Haaskjold was suggested as being the real ‘Albert Johnson’. Haaskjold, who was last seen in northern British Columbia in 1927, was a recluse who was paranoid of authorities because he’d evaded conscription in the First World War. He’d built a fortress-like cabin near Prince Rupert before disappearing. Once more the looks, age, accent, and mentality fit the Trapper’s profile.

As with advances in 1930’s technology like the radio and the airplane which tracked ‘Albert Johnson’ down, forensic technology in the twenty-first century came into play for a once-and-for-all attempt at solving the mystery of who the Mad Trapper of Rat River really was.

AA10In 2007, seventy-five years after his death, ‘Albert Johnson’ was exhumed for another look. As part of a Discovery Channel documentary, a team of eminent scientists including forensic odontologist and DNA extraction expert Dr. David Sweet, forensic pathologist Dr. Sam Andrews, and forensic anthropologist Dr. Owen Beattie, examined the skeletonized remains.

This forensic story is every bit as exciting as the hunt for the Trapper himself.

It took a pile of wrangling to get legal approval for exhumation, then obtain the consent of native peoples who laid claim to the land in which the Trapper was interred. Due to permafrost, there was only a slight window of time when the archeological dig could be made. And the exact location of the grave was in doubt.

AA9Perseverance came down to the last available day when the team and film crew zeroed-in on a shallow grave with a rotten, wooden casket. Using archeological skill and precision, the forensic scientists carefully detached the lid and exposed a perfectly preserved male skeleton. There were no longer traces of flesh or fabric, but what gleamed in their faces was gold bridgework from a sneering skull. Dr. Sweet used dental records made in 1932 to positively identify the ghostly remains as that of the Mad Trapper.

The team cataloged the bones, making three interesting observations. One was a deformity in the spine which led to questions as to how the man could have performed the physical feats described in legend. Second was that one foot was considerably longer than the other, again questioning his mobility. And third was the entry and exit marks of a bullet path through the pelvis which was consistent to the reported fatal wound.

AA13The team had the right remains but were no further ahead in determining identity. Dr. Sweet sectioned the Trapper’s right femur and extracted bone marrow samples as well as pulling four teeth for DNA examination. The remains were replaced in a new casket and re-interred in the original grave.

Back at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Sweet and his colleagues developed a perfect DNA profile of the Trapper. Extensive field investigation located relatives of the primary suspects – Arthur Nelson, John Johnson, Owen Albert Johnson, and Sigvald Pedersen Haaskjold. Descendant DNA profiles were developed for these men and compared to the known biological signature of the Trapper.

And guess who’s DNA matched?

AA4No one’s.

All four suspects were conclusively eliminated by modern forensic technology as being the Mad Trapper – as were a number of other remote possibilities. One sidenote is that oxygen isotopes developed from the teeth enamel indicated that the Trapper originated from either the mid-western United States or from Scandinavia.

So who really was Albert Johnson, the Mad Trapper of Rat River?

The mystery of who lies in the Aklavik grave remains unsolved.

*   *   *

Here are links to the fascinating made-for-television documentary on the forensic exhumation of the Mad Trapper’s skeleton.

http://www.mythmerchantfilms.com/index.php/mnu-library/mnu-lib-madtrapper

https://vimeo.com/channels/vidalbdoc/65414821

And author Barbara Smith wrote The Mad Trapper – Unearthing a Mystery which documents the forensic adventure.  Click Here