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- calendar_today October 12, 2026
International Partnership Seeks to Identify Colombia’s Missing
Colombia, after more than sixty years of sustained conflict, confronts a devastating legacy: over 137,000 people reported missing. The newly established Mershon Search Lab at The Ohio State University has joined forces with Colombia’s Unidad de Búsqueda de Personas dadas por Desaparecidas (UBPD) in a critical effort to identify those missing and to help bring closure to affected families.
Genesis of a Humanitarian Partnership
The roots of this collaboration trace back to an international convening about the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, where lab co-director Teri Murphy met representatives from UBPD. Colombia’s decades of turmoil, marked by warring factions and criminal gangs, saw the tragic strategy of ‘disappearing’ individuals, often through violence and secret burials.
During candid discussions, UBPD Director Dr. Luz Janeth Forero Martinez expressed her search agency’s desire for a university partner. The dialogue catalyzed a partnership that, after two years, launched the Mershon Search Lab in June of this year.
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Search and Identification
The search lab’s team draws expertise from social psychology, forensic anthropology, archaeology, geography, and sociology. Their research spans geographic, psychological, and technical domains—including questions about the fate of bodies disposed in rivers and how search efforts contribute to social healing and justice.
"At Ohio State, you’ve got brilliant minds, people with time and resources who focus on solving problems, but they’re often disconnected from the people who may need that support," said Derek Congram, co-director of the Mershon Search Lab. "The people who need that support, if you think of Colombia, they’re investigating over 137,000 missing persons. Research is a luxury for them. Ohio State is able to provide that research."
Learning from Colombia’s Search Process
The collaboration is mutually beneficial. Murphy noted that Colombia’s search procedures are regarded as among the most coordinated globally, offering Mershon’s team—including graduate students—valuable exposure to real-time data and field expertise from Colombian practitioners such as forensic and medical experts.
The lab’s ongoing work with UBPD includes technical consultations, data-driven search strategies, and shared learning around effective support for conflict missing persons and their families. Visiting UBPD's facility in Medellín, the team reinforced a commitment to humility, respect, and true partnership. "We want to support the work, not get in the way of it," Murphy said.
Commitment to Collaboration and Social Impact
Both partners emphasize the importance of listening, cooperation, and making research practical for those affected. "This pivot out of the ivory tower... to share knowledge so it can be useful to the people who need it most, that’s embedded in Ohio State’s history," Murphy affirmed.
Colombian Director Forero Martínez extended gratitude to Ohio State for its continued support of the joint search laboratory: "We extend our deepest gratitude to the Mershon Center at Ohio State University for the opportunity to continue advancing this wonderful project we have built together."
Uplifting Resilience and Fighting Oblivion
For the team, the mission is as much about technical search and identification as about honoring the lives lost. Congram acknowledged the inspiration taken from families and communities affected by disappearance, describing their courage as a lesson in resilience and humanity.
Murphy summed up her motivation as "the fight against oblivion." She explained, "Together with UBPD, our work is an act of remembering each person's humanity, to recognize their worth and to support a dignified return to their families and communities."
Source: news.osu.edu.
