No Stone Unturned

No Stone Unturned by Steve Jackson is a non-fiction, true crime book that details the role of the nonprofit investigative team NecroSearch International. Jackson has written 11 true crime books as well as 16 crime fiction thrillers. No Stone Unturned moves between homicide cases and shows how NecroSearch is essential in the solving of these crimes. There is a strong humanistic side to the work, presenting the victims and their families as three-dimensional characters. The book is remarked as a “must-have for true crime fans, it should also be of great interest to anyone fascinated with the practical applications of science" by Publisher's Weekly.

The book is divided into seven parts. The first part introduces readers into a general history of forensic sciences. It’s in 1810 that science directly contributes to criminal investigative work. A French agency called Surete is established with the goal of taking a scientific approach to police work. It is credited as the first agency to establish the concept of a police file. This leads to the value of understanding a criminal’s mind. The method of the creator, Francois Vidocq, is adopted by almost every major police force. Jackson moves through the history of forensics, the development of investigative deduction, blood type matching, ballistics, DNA analysis, time-of-death, and finally the modern state of forensics.

The second part shifts focus to NecroSearch International and its formation. It happens almost accidentally, as geophysicist G. Clark Davenport lends his hand to open cases, locating buried bodies using topographical research. This sets the stage for the larger network that he will form with co-founder Dick Hopkins: a group of scientists and specialists that can lend their particular skills to forensic investigation. The book continues by focusing on these people, their group, the cases they are involved in, and the homicide detectives who lead the collaboration.



The third part picks up the case of Michele Wallace. Michele is a 25-year-old photographer traveling in Oregon who goes missing in 1974 after picking up two hitchhikers. Her mother commits suicide two weeks after she disappears. A scalp that is a possible match is found in 1979 close to the area that Michele picks up the hitchhikers. After 12 years, the case is assigned to Kathy Young, who decides to work closely with NecroSearch, becoming essential in its solving. After completing forensic analysis of the decomposition of the scalp, they discover traces of a leaf native to a specific part of the mountains. After a two-day search, they discover Michele’s remains. They try and convict Roy Melanson for murder in 1993.

The fourth part focuses on Diane Keidel, who goes missing from her home in Phoenix in 1966. Davenport uses ground-penetrating radar in order to locate her remains. They find the nylon used to strangle her still around her neck. Gene Keidel, her husband, abuses her and one night kills her, pouring concrete in his backyard the next day. This is subconsciously witnessed by her daughter, Lori, who comes forward much later in her life. The investigators also connect this murder to an accidental fire that kills Lori’s two siblings. NecroSearch joins the investigation and finds the hollow area in the concrete that the body is buried. Gene Keidel is arrested after attempting to flee, and is tried and convicted for the murder of his wife and two children.

The fifth part details NecroSearch’s involvement in Cher Elder’s case. Cher runs away from Lakewood, Colorado in 1993 at age 20, after fighting with her boyfriend. She heads to Central City and gambles at a casino with a man named Thomas Luther, a recently released convicted criminal. She disappears, and the search is unsuccessful for two months. NecroSearch enters the case to assist Detective Richardson in finding her body in the Colorado backwoods. They discover her body, and Thomas Luther is convicted of murder and sentenced for 48 years.



The sixth part is the case of Christine Elkins. She’s a 32-year-old meth addict who plans to testify as a witness against her drug dealer, Tony Emery, in 1987. Emery decides to get rid of Christine so that she can’t testify, killing her and locking her in an Oldsmobile and then pushing it into the Missouri river. He thinks he’s safe, but NecroSearch is able to assist law enforcement in locating the hidden grave.

The seventh and final part is about the famous Russian Romanov family case. The Romanov czar family and their servants were all murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918. All the remains are accounted for except for two children, Alexis and Marie. The Russian government is planning a funeral in July and hope to find the two missing children. Diane France and Jim Reed head to Russia to assist. Diane concludes that Marie had actually already been found and mistaken for Anastasia; it is in fact Anastasia and Alexis that are missing. The Russians disagree with her.

Jackson’s work shows just how essential a wide-range of sciences are to forensic investigation. He reveals the human element behind investigation and how knowledge is a great asset. Many of the cases Jackson focuses on take place over a long period of time. NecroSearch helps the families of these victims find justice and closure, even after so many years.