Edna Farrel's record was a little better, and included handwritten notes taken at the time of her disappearance. There was a statement by Sandra Jane Farrel, giving an account of Edna's last days and a detailed physical description. Edna had falen from a horse as a young woman, and Sandra described her mother's face as 'lopsided.'

I snatched up a black-and-white snapshot with scaloped edges. Though the image was blurry, the facial asymmetry was obvious.

'Way to go, Edna.'

There were photos of Charlie Wayne Tramper, and his disappearance and death were reported in several newspaper articles. Otherwise, there was little in the way of written information.

===OO=OOO=OO===

The folowing days were like the first I'd spent at the Alarka Fire Department, living with the dead from dawn until dusk. Hour after hour I sorted and arranged bones, determined sex and race, estimated age and height. I searched for indicators of old injury, past ilness, congenital peculiarity, or repetitive movement. For each skeleton I built as complete a profile as was possible working from remains devoid of living tissue.

In a way, it was like processing a crash, where names are known from the passenger roster. Based on Veckhoff's diary, I was convinced I had a limited population because the dates entered in his lists matched precisely the disappearance dates of seniors from Swain and adjoining counties: 1943, Tucker Adams; 1949, Edna Farrel; 1959, Charlie Wayne Tramper; 1986, Albert Odel.

Believing them to be the earliest in time, we started with the four tunnel burials. While Stan and Maggie cleaned, sorted, numbered, photographed, and X-rayed, I studied bones.

I found Edna Farrel early. Skeleton number four was that of an elderly female whose right cheekbone and jawbone deviated sharply from the midline due to fractures that had healed without proper intervention.

Skeleton number five was incomplete, lacking portions of the rib cage, arms, and lower legs. Animal damage was extensive. Pelvic features told me the individual was male and old. A globular skul, flaring cheekbones, and shoveling on the front teeth suggested Native-American ancestry. Statistical analysis placed the skul squarely in the Mongoloid camp. Charlie Wayne Tramper?

Number six, the most deteriorated of the skeletons, was that of an elderly Caucasoid male who had been toothless at the time of his death. Save for a height estimate of over six feet, I found no unique markers on the bones. Tucker Adams?

Skeleton number three was that of an elderly male with healed fractures of the nose, maxila, third, fourth, and fifth ribs, and right fibula. A long, narrow skul, Quonset but nasal bridge, smooth nasal border, and anterior projection of the lower face suggested the man was black. So did the Fordisc 2.0 program. I suspected he was the 1979

victim.

Next, I examined the skeletons found in the alcove with Mitchel and Adair.

Skeleton number two was that of an elderly white male. Arthritic changes in the right shoulder and arm bones suggested repeated extension of the hand above the head.