To Paul Sledzik, M.S., National Museum of Health and Medicine, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, on the history, structure, and operation of the DMORT system; Frank A. Ciaccio, MPA., Office of Government, Public, and Family Affairs, United States National Transportation Safety Board, for information on DMORT, the NTSB, and the Family Assistance Plan.

To Arpad Vass, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, for a crash course on volatile fatty acids.

To Special Agent Jim Corcoran, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Division, for outlining the workings of the FBI in North Carolina; Detective Ross Trudel (retired), Communauté Urbaine de Montreal Police, for information on explosives and their regulation; Sergent-détective Stephen Rudman (retired), Communauté Urbaine de Montreal Police, for details on police funerals.

To Janet Levy, Ph.D., University of North Carolina-Charlotte, for specifics on the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, and answers to questions archaeological; Rachel Bonney, Ph.D., University of North Carolina-Charlotte, and Barry Hipps, Cherokee Historical Association, for knowledge about the Cherokee.

To John Butts, M.D., Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina; Michael Sulivan, M.D., Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner; and Roger Thompson, Director, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Crime Laboratory.

To Marilyn Steely, M.A., for pointing me to the Hel Fire Club; Jack C. Morgan Jr., M.A.I., C.R.E., for enlightening me on property deeds, maps, and tax records; Irene Bacznsky, for help with airline names.

To Anne Fletcher, for accompanying me on our Smoky Mountain adventure.

A special thanks to the people of Bryson City, North Carolina, including Faye Bumgarner, Beverly Means, and Donna Rowland at the Bryson City library; Ruth Anne Sitton and Bess Ledford at the Swain County Tax and Land Records Office; Linda Cable, Swain County Administrator; Susan Cutshaw and Dick Schaddelee at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce; Monica Brown, Marty Martin and Misty Brooks at the Fryemont Inn; and, especialy, Chief Deputy Jackie Fortner, Swain County Sheriff's Department.

Merci to M. Yves St. Marie, Dr. Andre Lauzon, and to al my coleagues at the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Legale; Chancelor James Woodward at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

To Paul Reichs, for his valuable comments on the manuscript.

To my superb editors, Susanne Kirk and Lynne Drew.

And, of course, to my miracle-worker agent, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh.

My stories could not be what they are without the help of friends and coleagues. I thank them. As always, al mistakes are of my making.