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be preserved in the state it was found. The entire tool should be packaged in protective material then enclosed in plastic. Finally the entire tool should be placed in a wooden or cardboard box and transported to the lab.

Sampling methods may need to be adapted when the scene is outdoors. If the challenge is the recovery of remains, soil samples should be taken at regular intervals up to 100 yards from the gravesite or point of recovery (Saferstein, 2004). Usually a grid search is set up and samples can be taken from each square of the grid and labeled as to which grid it was taken from.

About a tablespoon of soil should be enough for most modern tests. Usually only the surface soil needs to be sampled. The exception to this is in the case of a buried body, In this case soil samples should be taken at regular intervals as the remains are exposed. After the remains are removed from the gravesite the bottom of the grave should also be sampled. It is important to note that a new shovel, spoon or other scoop must be used for each grid and sample. Should the same implement is used serially, uncleaned to recover sample then Locard's Principle is at work again and cross contamination will render your samples useless.

Samples should be placed in plastic vials for transport. If it is not possible to transport the samples immediately they should be allowed to air dry before transport.

A special note for gravesites is that if insect evidence is present the vials should be labeled in pencil rather than pen. The specimens will likely be preserved in alcohol which if it leaks onto the label will destroy ink from pens. Without the label as to the time and place of collection your sample is forensically worthless.

Outdoor scenes often involve vehicles. There are several ways of collecting soil samples from vehicles. Vehicles involved in accidents will sometimes leave lumps of soil from under the wheel wells and fenders on the road way. These lumps should be collected intact and wrapped in protective material to minimize bumping during transport. The purpose behind this is to preserve the layers that have built up to create this lump of soil. A soil analyst can read these layers and know where this vehicle has been. The analyst may also be able to match the layers in a lump of soil to a particular vehicle. I can't help but think this would have been very useful in tracking Ted Bundy or Henry Lee Lucas in their cross county travels.

Clothing and footwear should be collected intact.

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