Naomi Carver’s research while affiliated with Queen's University Belfast and other places

... In instances where the discovery of human remains is the aim of an investigation, such as when searching for the possible location of deposition in a missing persons case, VRDs are deployed in the search for human remains and possible clandestine burials. This can be on a singular or mass scale, for example, in individual cases such as locating the victims of the Moors Murders (Powell, 2023;Topping and Ritchie, 1989) and also to aid in finding extensive, multi deposition, IRA graves in Ireland (Powell, 2023;Ruffell et al., 2008). VRD have a highly precise sense of smell and can identify volatile organic compounds released through human decomposition, and thus can detect human remains that have been concealed, submerged in water, and buried up to 15 ft below the ground (K9 Patrol, 2022;Komar, 1999;Lasseter et al., 2003). ...

Reference:

Investigating the findings of a Police workshop on the identification of skeletal material