Once again, this is confirmed through interviews with family members and neighborhood sources and also supported with public documents. Of course, all information obtained should match what shows on the death certificate. Various elements can be used to confirm the I.D. of the subject which could include matching social security numbers, checking criss-cross directories and comparing physical descriptions from various public document sources. When the I.D. of the decendant becomes questionable, there are several investigative techniques that can be used to prove or disprove such a claim. This would require further investigation.
Fingerprints are the fastest and easist way of ascertaining an indentification.
However, this would require a match of the subject's fingerprints with fingerprint records already on file. Sometimes such records do not exist or cannot be obtained. Moreover, there are times in a death claim investigation that fingerprints from the remains of the subject are not obtainable. The majority of persons have a very individual skeletal system that can be used as a means of identification because of past bone fractures. Various bones can also be used to develop information concerning age, sex and race.