Chico State Enterprises
Our Office

Chico State Enterprises
25 Main Street, Suite 103
530-898-6864
530-898-6804 - Fax

Mailing Address
Chico State Enterprises
25 Main Street, Suite 203
Chico, CA 95928-5388

Quick Links

Chico State’s Human Identification Laboratory Brings Answers to Law Enforcement and Families

Chico State Today

March 4, 2025

Rain threatened under a gray sky as the all-terrain vehicles splashed through a shallow crossing of the Eel River. Two days earlier, a family kayaking in Mendocino County had stumbled across two tennis shoes emerging from the waterway’s muddy banks and reported it to law enforcement, which summoned Chico State’s Human Identification Lab (HIL) to aid with recovery of a body and identification.

Two forensic researchers in a laboratory examine human skeletal remains. The woman in the foreground, wearing a gray sweater and blue gloves, is using a tablet while analyzing bones. The man in the background, wearing glasses and a checkered shirt, observes the work. The setting includes various lab equipment and shelves with containers. Overlaid on the left side of the image is a stylized skeleton diagram with numerical labels, a digital binary code background, and bold yellow and black text reading 'CLOSING CRIMINAL AND COLD CASES.'

Photo credit: Jason Halley/University Photographer

See the article at Chico State Today!(opens in new window)