Makeshift morgue set up for border crossers as desert deaths continue to climb

TUCSON, AZ - Pima County medical examiners are using a refrigerated truck trailer as a makeshift morgue for bodies found in the Arizona desert.

Officials said 59 border crossers were found dead in July. It is the second highest number since July 2005 when 69 bodies were found.

Chief Medical Examiner Bruce Parks said most died from dehydration or heat stroke.

"Most people found this July are people that died probably within a week of the body being found," Parks said.

The truck trailer is expected to be part of the Medical Examiners office for a while, since it will take months to identify the bodies.  Forensic experts will have to use the items found in pockets, CDs, phone lists, rosaries, and even love letters, to piece together the identities of  the bodies.

"Each one of these pouches represents a person's personal effects. We've got a Mexican voter registration card which will be very helpful because it gives us a place to start," said Parks.

The backlog will take months, Parks said, and it will likely be January 2011 by the time families are notified.

"When we are able to identify somebody and get them back to their families, there's a greater sense of satisfaction," said Parks.

Pima County Medical Examiners have worked on 1,700 cases.  But it's hard to say what the real number of deaths amount to, since medical examiners say most who die in the Arizona desert are never found.