Chapter 294 Survey Site

Chapter 294 Survey Site

Jack stood up straight without comment and waved to Corey Lambert, who walked over with a puzzled look on his face.

"As far as I know, hunters are all masters of tracking traces. Why don't you join us, Mr. Lambert? If there is anything wrong with what I said, please help point it out."

"Me? Is this appropriate?" Corey Lambert pointed to himself in surprise and looked at the old sheriff on the other side.

The old police chief seemed very unconcerned, "Don't ask me, you're not under my control. If the FBI thinks it's okay, it'll be fine."

"Well, for God's sake." Corey Lambert shrugged and walked over to the two men.

Although he tried to pretend that the matter had nothing to do with him, Jack knew from his insistence on confirming the name of the deceased that his heart was not as peaceful as it seemed on the surface.

He came to a place more than ten meters away from the body, and a series of footprints of different depths extended from here to the distance.

"Because the girl is barefoot and it is snowy here, we can clearly judge the girl's walking posture with the naked eye."

"The front part of the foot is very deep, and the heel position is very shallow. Although the distance between steps is not large, from here on, most of the footprints are in this state, indicating that the girl has been running. She has no strength, but she is still running. "

Jack stood up again and walked further away. Jane and Corey Lambert hurriedly followed. Even the old police chief, who had been chatting with his police officers just now, followed him breathlessly.

Jack didn't stop until he was more than a hundred meters away from the body. The snow here was a little uneven. He used his palm to gently remove a thin layer of snowflakes on the surface.

"She once fell down here. There is a large pool of blood here. This is not a traumatic injury. It is the same blood stain next to her body. It came from her lungs."

"Mr. Lambert said that the temperature here at night can be as low as minus 4 degrees (minus 20 degrees Celsius). When a person inhales low-temperature air for a long time, the blood in the lungs will be frozen, ice slag will puncture the alveoli, and the blood will begin to freeze. Fill your lungs a little bit.”

"So the girl started coughing up blood and ended up suffocating and collapsed on the edge of the woods."

After Jack finished speaking, he looked at Corey Lambert, "Does Mr. Lambert have anything to add?"

The hunter squinted his eyes slightly and looked into the distance. The traces further away were completely covered by snowflakes. He was silent, as if he was remembering something. After a long time, he slowly spoke, his voice a little difficult.

"She had been running in the snow for a long time and the nearest house was 3.5 miles away."

Jane also looked at the direction where the footprints extended in a daze. It wasn't until a few snowflakes fell and got into her collar that she subconsciously shrank her neck and shuddered.

"How far do you think a girl like this can run with bare feet in this environment?"

Jack didn't speak. He couldn't guess the human potential, and forensic science couldn't tell him the answer.

Historically, it was only during World War II that the inhumane Neon Man conducted human experiments on ordinary people in Seris and captured Lucian soldiers under extremely cold conditions.

"All I know about this girl is that she's a tough fighter, so no matter how far you think she can run, I guarantee she can run further than you think she can."

After Corey Lambert said these words, he walked towards his snowmobile.

Jane, who was inexplicably yelled at again, looked at Jack for help.

"Leave it to me." Jack silently mouthed to her, indicating that she would handle it for him.

"Where is the nearest house he mentioned?" Jane patiently asked the old police chief as they walked back together.

"To the southeast, that's Sam's house." The old sheriff paused and added, "A poisonous insect addicted to drugs. I don't think this matter has anything to do with him. Natalie is a good girl and will not be like this. of people mixed together.”

"So in your opinion, why would a girl appear here alone?" Jane asked.

"Well" the old sheriff looked around, "young people like to bring their ski tools out and have parties in the snow. Maybe something happened at the party."

"That's impossible, Ben. You know, these children have lived together since childhood and are familiar with each other. Even if something happens, it is impossible that there will be no news at all."

Corey Lambert, who was at the front, retorted.

Jack quickly caught up and asked a digression, "Does Mr. Lambert have a good relationship with the victim's family?"

"Why do you say that?" The hunter looked at him with a surprised expression.

"You are a USFWS (Federal Fish and Wildlife Service) registered hunter, and one of your responsibilities is to protect the people and farm animals here from predators."

"Obviously the body is not within your protection, and you are not a policeman and have no obligation to protect the scene, but you stayed here all night last night and killed a wild wolf."

Jack pointed to the fresh wolf pelt on the back of his snowmobile.

Corey Lambert opened his mouth, as if he wanted to defend something, but then gave up.

"Yes, I know Natalie's father very well, and Natalie used to be my daughter's best friend."

"Ever?" Jack's heart moved.

"Yes, once." Corey Lambert's cheek twitched, "My daughter died three years ago."

"Sorry." Jack did not continue to ask further. This information was enough for the time being. Although he was very curious about "Eagle Eye", it was not the time to talk about it yet.

"What should we do next?" Returning to the body, Jane asked Jack in a worried voice.

Jack smiled and looked at the somewhat naive female agent, and replied in a low voice, "You shouldn't ask me. I'm on vacation right now, and you are the one who makes the decision."

"Okay." Jane took a deep breath, seeming to encourage herself.

"Chief Xiao Yi, how is the level of forensic medicine here?"

The old sheriff sniffed and put his hands on his hips, as if thinking about how to phrase his words.

"Well let's just say he's been busy."

"After the on-site evidence collection is completed, ask him to transport the body back to Loveland as soon as possible for an autopsy. Prioritize the intrusion examination. Please be sure to bring her belongings with you. I will need to take a look at them then."

Jane tried to slow down her speech and carefully consider her words, "I have initially determined that this is a murder and will report it to my superior as soon as possible."

The old sheriff seemed to be relieved and nodded, indicating that he understood. Obviously, he also hoped to transfer jurisdiction to the FBI instead of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Although Jack didn't know much about Indians, a minority that had been forgotten by mainstream North American society, he did know a little bit about this department abbreviated as BIA.

This department was established in 1824. It was originally affiliated with the War Department and was called the "Office of Indian Affairs". Its role can be imagined.

Six years after the establishment of this department, in 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which was the first time this country officially recognized Indians as human beings.

With the start of the famous westward expansion movement, in 1838, the relatively civilized Choctaw, Seminoe, Creek, Chickasaw and Cherokee tribes in southern North America, known as the "Five Civilized Tribes", were Forced relocation to the west.

A large number of women, children, and children died on the road. The mortality rate of each ethnic group ranged from 30% to 50%. This forced migration was called the "Road of Blood and Tears."

Among them, the Seminoles who refused to migrate were almost completely exterminated after three wars of encirclement and suppression. Today, a small reservation of this tribe remains in the swamps of Florida.

In order to commemorate the westward expansion, the descendants of the colonists built a large arch on the bank of the Mississippi River. It is known as the "Gateway to the West" and is taller than the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty. It is very beautiful and very beautiful. Spectacular.

Of course, with the "progress" of the times, this department, which nominally protects the rights and interests of Indians, finally began to hire a large number of employees with Indian "blood" from the 1970s.

However, to this day, the BIA, as the “boss of all Indian reservations,” still favors the interests of non-Indian groups in disputes involving the development of reservation resources.

Not to mention that the BIA used the guise of "Indian Health Services" to carry out forced sterilization of Indian women. In the name of education, it forced Indian children to study in boarding schools and even forced them to be "fostered" to white families.

From 1819 to 1969, according to the federal government's own statistics, at least 40,000 children died in these boarding schools and were hastily buried.

Therefore, it is easy to understand that this old police chief, who looks like he is at least half Indian, would show such conflicting emotions.

From the anger and helplessness when seeing the FBI just sending out a rookie agent in a perfunctory manner, to the hope aroused when knowing Jack's identity.

Now that he finally heard Jane confirm that this was a murder case and jurisdiction would belong to the FBI, Jack felt sad and sympathetic at the look of relief on his face.

In fact, when he hesitated to mention that the medical examiner had been busy, Jack could probably guess how frequent local deaths were.

You know, the total population of Wyoming is less than 600,000, which is nearly 200,000 less than the population of Alaska, which is partially located in the Arctic Circle.

The Indian reservation in the Wind River Valley is even more of a wilderness among the wilderness.

And in such a desolate place, the local police chief actually said that the medical examiner has been very busy, so one can imagine the incidence of death cases in this reservation and surrounding areas.

There was a sudden engine sound, and the hunter Corey Lambert on the side pulled the starting rope hard to start his snowmobile.

"Where are you going?" Jane asked loudly.

"Go find my son. I only have one day of visiting time a week. He usually lives with his mother." Hunter Corey answered loudly.

Co-author The old Indian couple on the farm just now are his former parents-in-law.

Jack got another interesting piece of information. Judging from the previous interactions between the two parties, it was obvious that he had a good relationship with the two old men.

So what was the reason for his divorce? Jack thought about what he said to Jane before. Thinking about it now, he was more venting his inner anger than saying something against someone.

Did this girl's death make him think of his daughter?

Jack had more questions in his mind, and he planned to have a chat with Aaliyah after he went back.

"That means you will have time after tonight?" Jack smiled and stood in front of Hunter Corey's car, blocking the way.

"He's very busy." The old police chief in a good mood took the initiative to answer. "He also has a lion to hunt. That beast killed a steer on his father-in-law's farm two days ago."

"There are three of them. A female lion is practicing her hunting skills with her two cubs. I have found the traces and will be able to find them soon."

Corey unzipped his coat, opened a small bag hanging on his chest, took out his cell phone and checked the time.

This should be his tip for dealing with the severe cold in the wild, using body temperature to prevent electronic equipment from malfunctioning at low temperatures.

Jack did not get out of the way, but asked with a sincere expression, "If it's not urgent, would you like to help me hunt down one more beast? Of course, it could also be a group."

Corey couldn't help being slightly startled when he heard this, and then looked at the young man in front of him in disbelief, staring intently into his eyes, as if he wanted to use this method to confirm the truth or falsehood of his words.

"Do you know what you are talking about? You are an FBI."

Jack shrugged nonchalantly, "It's an FBI who is on vacation. You don't need to believe me, you just need to believe Aaliyah."

Perhaps convinced by his last words, Corey did not continue to hesitate. He just whispered OK and turned around on the snowmobile to leave.

Jack and Jane stayed where they were, watching as the forensic assistant and two reservation policemen used chainsaws to separate the body from the ice and snow frozen together beneath it, and finally put it into a body bag.

If this shoddy separation method were seen by those professional forensic experts, they might be heartbroken or even cursed, but neither of them said anything because time was running out, dark clouds were pressing in the distance, and another snowstorm was coming.

When Jack drove the SUV that Jane rented and found the small hotel where he and Aaliyah stayed according to the direction given by Braxton, the visibility outside the car almost dropped to less than 3 meters.

Entering the hotel, the two found that the environment here was surprisingly good. The lobby was filled with a dazzling array of tobacco and alcohol products. These were tax-free products franchised by the federal government as "compensation" to help the reservation develop its economy.

Of course, the well-known Indian casinos are also franchised. In fact, because they are too remote, more than 60% of the reservations have no casinos because no one comes.

There are no casinos in the Wind River Valley reservation. There are several oil drilling rigs leased and developed by the Department of Energy nearby. It is the only place where local young people can find jobs.

The average number of subscriptions is almost 3,000. Today I will merge two chapters together and try to sprint to see if I can get a badge. Although it is of no use, at any rate we are almost a newbie who has written a high-quality book.