The Missing, the Unidentified, and Representational Obligations to the Dead in the United States of America.

Thousands of human remains lie unidentified in Medical Examiners' and Coroners' Offices across the United States of America. Determining identity is the first step in bringing closure to grieving families and communities and, in certain cases, moving towards justice. While many distance themselves from death, forensic specialists, including forensic photographers and artists, dive in, focusing intently on every detail to recapitulate the deceased's story. Forensic sketches serve a dual purpose-identification and remembrance. They have been used for over a century to help identify deceased bodies and connect them to their remaining loved ones. Common external characteristics are combined with accentuated distinguishing features to bring the body back to life in a recognizable form. Preserving human dignity, acting with respect and non-maleficence, and contributing to justice are central in these postmortem proceedings. This comprehensive review explores the gravity of the silent mass disaster of unidentified human remains in the United States of America, the disparities that exist between the missing and the recovered and identified, and sheds light on the early introduction of artificial intelligence into the field of forensic identification.