kvmb Chapter 1487 Turning Point: Discovery of Suspected Clues
Chapter 1487 Turning Point: Discovery of Suspected Clues
Xiao Zhou spoke seriously, his gaze sweeping over the five team members in front of him. "From now on, we will focus all our efforts on the missing persons information system, using the physical characteristics of the deceased as the core, screening and comparing them one by one, and not letting go of any suspicious clues." In the folder in his hand was a summary of the autopsy report issued by forensic doctor Zhang Lin, which clearly marked the key characteristics of the deceased: male, 35-45 years old, 175 cm tall, medium build, missing upper left lateral incisor, average nutritional status, and wearing a dark cotton jacket and blue jeans.
That afternoon, Xiao Zhou led his team into the information analysis room of the Criminal Investigation Detachment. Five computers were started simultaneously, logging into the National Missing Persons Information Management System. "The screening scope is set to male missing persons in this city and surrounding cities within the past five years, aged 30-50, with a height range of 170-180 cm. Those with dental damage and matching clothing characteristics will be highlighted," Xiao Zhou instructed. The team members immediately began the intense screening work. The missing persons data in the information system was complex, with each entry containing multiple pieces of information such as name, gender, age, physical characteristics, time of disappearance, location of disappearance, and family contact information, requiring verification and screening one by one.
The screening work was tedious and tedious. Team members stared intently at the computer screens, their fingers flying across the keyboards, pausing occasionally to record suspicious information. "Team Leader Zhang, here's a missing person record from last year: male, 40 years old, 174 cm tall, from Donghu District of this city. He was wearing a dark coat when he disappeared, but there's no mention of any dental damage," team member Xiao Li said, pointing to the screen. Xiao Zhou immediately leaned forward to carefully examine the information: the missing person's name was Wang Jianjun, the time of disappearance was October of last year, the location of disappearance was near the vegetable market in Donghu District, and the family reported that he had gone out to buy goods and had not returned, and that his mobile phone, wallet, and other belongings were not taken with him. "Mark this lead down first. Later, when verifying the family information, we'll ask additional questions about any dental damage," Xiao Zhou instructed, while also having Xiao Li enter the information into the suspicious leads log, marking it as priority.
Time ticked by, and only the sound of keyboards and occasional conversations remained in the analysis room. Outside, the sky gradually darkened from bright to dusk, then from pitch black to a pale dawn. Team members took turns resting, eating only simple boxed lunches, maintaining a constant rhythm of one person screening while another checked records. By the end of the first day, the team had sifted through over 3200 missing persons records, initially identifying four suspicious leads. Besides Wang Jianjun, the leads included missing persons Li Qiang, Zhao Gang, and Sun Ming, all matching the age, height, and some clothing characteristics, but all lacking the crucial marker of a missing upper left lateral incisor.
The next morning, Xiao Zhou led his team in two groups to visit the families of the four suspects. Xiao Zhou personally led a team to Donghu District and contacted Wang Jianjun's wife, Liu Mei. At Liu Mei's home, Xiao Zhou showed her a diagram of the deceased's physical characteristics and asked, "Before your husband disappeared, were his teeth damaged? For example, were they missing teeth or had fillings?" Liu Mei recalled for a moment and shook her head, saying, "No, my husband's teeth have always been very good. Apart from some cavities, he didn't have any missing teeth, and he didn't mention any tooth discomfort before he disappeared." Xiao Zhou then inquired about the details of Wang Jianjun's clothing and belongings at the time of his disappearance, discovering that the dark-colored coat he was wearing was a down jacket, which did not match the cotton coat worn by the deceased. To ensure everything was in order, Xiao Zhou followed procedure, collecting a blood sample from Liu Mei and commissioning a laboratory for DNA comparison to rule out a parent-child relationship.
Another team visited the families of Li Qiang, Zhao Gang, and Sun Ming. Li Qiang's family stated that Li Qiang was 176 cm tall and did indeed have a missing lower tooth, but it wasn't his upper left lateral incisor. Furthermore, he was wearing a light-colored jacket when he disappeared, which differed significantly from the deceased's clothing characteristics. Zhao Gang's family reported that Zhao Gang was overweight, which didn't match the deceased's "medium build," and he had no dental damage. Sun Ming's family stated that Sun Ming was only 32 years old when he disappeared. While his height and build matched, his teeth were intact, and his disappearance occurred three months prior, which didn't match the estimated time of death. After the visits, the team members sent blood samples collected from the families of the three missing persons to the laboratory and simultaneously supplemented and improved the ledger of suspicious clues, marking all discrepancies.
The following afternoon, Xiao Zhou led his team to continue screening the information system, checking over 4500 more records and adding three new suspicious leads: Zhou Haitao, Wu Bin, and Zheng Xiaofeng, all missing persons. Zhou Haitao, 42 years old, 175 cm tall, from Nanwan District of the city, had been missing for six months. He was wearing a dark cotton coat when he disappeared. His family reported that he had dental damage, but couldn't remember the exact location. Wu Bin, 38 years old, 173 cm tall, from a nearby city, was carrying an old-fashioned warehouse key when he disappeared; his clothing characteristics partially matched those of the deceased. Zheng Xiaofeng, 44 years old, 177 cm tall, from Xicheng District of the city, worked in warehousing before his disappearance and had a history of filling in his upper left lateral incisor.
On the third day, Xiao Zhou redistributed police resources to investigate the three newly identified suspicious leads. Regarding Zhou Haitao's case, Xiao Zhou led his team to his family, inquiring in detail about the dental damage. Zhou Haitao's father recalled, "My son was in a car accident a few years ago, knocking out one of his upper right canines. He had it filled later, but his upper left lateral incisor was intact and not missing." The family also provided a photo of the jacket Zhou Haitao was wearing when he disappeared; although both were dark cotton, the style was significantly different from the deceased's jacket. Xiao Zhou collected a blood sample from Zhou Haitao's son for DNA comparison.
Team member Xiao Wang led a team to verify clues about Wu Bin, traveling to cities near Wu Bin's registered residence and contacting his wife. Wu Bin's wife stated that the warehouse key Wu Bin carried when he disappeared was made of brass, different from the iron key recovered from the scene. Furthermore, Wu Bin was thin, unlike the average build of the deceased, and his teeth showed no damage. Xiao Wang collected a blood sample from Wu Bin's daughter and took photos of the warehouse key, sending them back to the analysis room for comparison with the key recovered from the scene. The comparison confirmed that the two were unrelated.
Team member Xiao Zhang was responsible for verifying clues about Zheng Xiaofeng, visiting his family and the warehousing company where he worked. Zheng Xiaofeng's family stated that he did have a history of fillings in his upper left lateral incisor and was wearing a dark coat when he disappeared, but at 177 cm tall, he was 2 cm taller than the deceased and was overweight. The warehousing company manager stated that Zheng Xiaofeng was responsible for warehouse management before his disappearance and possessed multiple warehouse keys, but all were new-style keys, inconsistent with the old-style keys found at the scene. Xiao Zhang collected a blood sample from Zheng Xiaofeng's wife and reviewed the warehousing company's surveillance footage, confirming discrepancies between Zheng Xiaofeng's clothing and physique at the time of his disappearance and the deceased's.