NY Exec L § 838 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EXC - Executive Article 35 - Division of Criminal Justice Services 838 - Identification of Unknown Dead and Missing Persons.

§ 838. Identification  of  unknown  dead and missing persons. 1. Every county medical examiner and coroner shall promptly furnish the  division and  the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System created by the Office of Justice Program's National Institute of Justice,  with  copies of  fingerprints  on  standardized  eight inch by eight inch fingerprint cards or the equivalent digital image, personal descriptions  and  other identifying  data,  including  date  and place of death, of all deceased persons whose deaths are in a classification requiring  inquiry  by  the medical  examiner or coroner where the deceased is not identified or the medical examiner  or  coroner  is  not  satisfied  with  the  decedent's identification.  The  division  shall  promptly  make available personal descriptions and other identifying data, including  date  and  place  of death,  of  such deceased persons to all law enforcement agencies in the state, and upon request, to law  enforcement  agencies  outside  of  the state.   2.  In  any case where it is not physically possible to furnish prints of the ten fingers of the deceased, prints  or  partial  prints  of  any fingers  with  other  identifying  data shall be forwarded by the county medical examiner or coroner to the division.   3. In addition to the foregoing provisions of this section, the county medical examiner or coroner shall cause a dentist authorized to practice pursuant to article one hundred thirty-three of the education law  or  a dental  student  in  a  registered  school of dentistry in this state to carry out a dental examination of the deceased. The medical examiner  or coroner  shall forward the dental examination records to the division on a form supplied by the division for that purpose.   4. The division shall  compare  the  fingerprints  received  from  the county  medical  examiners  or coroners to fingerprints on file with the division for purposes of attempting to determine  the  identity  of  the deceased.    Other descriptive data supplied with the fingerprints shall also be compared  to  records  maintained  by  the  division  concerning missing   persons.   The  division  shall  submit  the  results  of  the comparisons to the appropriate medical examiner  or  coroner  and  if  a tentative  or  positive  identification  is made, to the law enforcement authority which submitted the report of the missing person.   5. (a) (i) When any person makes a report of a missing person to a law enforcement authority, the authority  shall  request  a  member  of  the family  or next of kin of the missing person to authorize the release to the division of the dental records of the person reported  missing.  The release  shall  be  on  a  form  supplied by the division. If the person reported missing is still missing thirty days after the report is  made, the  law  enforcement authority shall deliver the release to the dentist or dentists of the missing person, and request the dentist  or  dentists to deliver such records, including dental x-rays, to the division within ten days. The form of such request shall also include means by which the law  enforcement  authority  shall  be  notified of the delivery of such records.  (ii) When the person reported missing has not been found within thirty days and no family or next of kin exists or  can  be  located,  the  law enforcement authority may execute a written declaration, stating that an active investigation seeking the location of the missing person is being conducted,  and  that the dental records are necessary for the exclusive purpose of  furthering  the  investigation.  Such  written  declaration, signed  by  a  peace officer, is sufficient authority for the dentist or dentists to release  the  missing  person's  dental  records,  including dental x-rays, to the division.  (b)  Upon  receipt  of  a  properly  executed  release  and request or declaration, the dentist or dentists shall forward the  dental  records,  including  dental  x-rays,  to  the  division,  where  a  file  shall be maintained concerning persons reported to it as missing and who have not been reported to it as found. The file shall contain dental records  and such other information as the division finds to be relevant to assisting in the location of a missing person. The law enforcement authority shall be notified of the delivery of such records.   6.  The  division  shall  compare the dental records received from the county medical examiners  or  coroners  to  dental  records  of  missing persons on file with the division. The division shall submit the results of  the comparison to the appropriate medical examiner or coroner and if a tentative or positive identification is made, to the  law  enforcement authority which submitted the report of the missing person.   7.  (a)  When a person previously reported missing has been found, the superintendent of state police, sheriff, chief  of  police,  coroner  or medical  examiner,  or  other  law enforcement authority shall erase all records with respect to such person and/or destroy any  documents  which are maintained pursuant to this section and shall report to the division that  the  person has been found and that the records and documents have been so erased or destroyed. After receiving such a report, the division shall erase all records with respect to such person and/or  destroy  any documents which are maintained pursuant to this section.  (b) Nothing in paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be construed as prohibiting   law  enforcement  agencies  from  maintaining  case  files relating to vulnerable adults,  as  defined  in  section  eight  hundred thirty-seven-f-one,  who  were reported missing, provided, however, that any DNA, fingerprints and/or dental records acquired in  the  course  of such  investigation  shall be erased and/or destroyed in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subdivision after the person  previously  reported missing has been found.  (c)  (i)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  paragraph  (a) of this subdivision, if a vulnerable adult, as defined in section eight  hundred thirty-seven-f-one of this article, previously reported missing has been found,  the division shall maintain a sealed record of the case file for a period of ten years, after which it shall be erased and/or  destroyed. The sealed record shall be unsealed if the individual to whom the record pertains  is  reported missing on a subsequent occasion or if needed for evidentiary purposes in any civil litigation against the division or its personnel that arises from the investigation. However, in the event that there are grounds for a criminal action arising from the  investigation, nothing  in  this  subdivision  shall  be interpreted as prohibiting the division from allowing  such  records  to  remain  unsealed  until  such criminal action is concluded or otherwise resolved.  (ii)  The  division  shall establish rules and regulations relating to the unsealing of records. Such rules and regulations shall require that, pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the process of unsealing such records shall take no longer than  two  hours  from  the  time  the division  receives a report that a vulnerable adult, for whom there is a previous record, is missing.   8. The information contained in the division's  missing  person  files shall  be made available by it to law enforcement agencies attempting to locate missing persons.   9. Notwithstanding any other provision of  law,  no  criminal  justice agency  shall  establish  or  maintain  any  policy  which  requires the observance of a waiting period  before  accepting  and  investigating  a missing  child  report.  Upon  receipt  of  a report of a missing child, criminal justice agencies shall make  entries  of  such  report  to  the register  in the manner provided by section eight hundred thirty-seven-e of this article.    10. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,  no  criminal  justice agency  shall  establish  or  maintain  any  policy  that  requires  the observance of a waiting period  before  accepting  and  investigating  a report of a missing vulnerable adult as defined in section eight hundred thirty-seven-f-one  of  this  article.  Upon receipt of a report of such missing vulnerable adult, criminal justice agencies shall  make  entries of  such  report  in  the  manner provided by subdivision eleven of this section.   11. Whenever a criminal justice agency determines that a person  is  a missing   vulnerable   adult,   as  defined  in  section  eight  hundred thirty-seven-f-one of this  article,  or  that  an  unidentified  living person  may  be a missing vulnerable adult, such criminal justice agency shall enter the report of such missing vulnerable adult in any  database of   missing   persons  maintained  by  the  division  and  the  federal government.