HARRISONBURG — Forensic experts are working on a facial reconstruction of the bones found near Harrisonburg.

Efforts to link the dental information to area orthodontists and dentists have not yet led to a match.

LSU Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Laboratory Director Mary Manhein said facial reconstruction is used frequently to help identify remains.

Manhein said she is using facial reconstruction because of the lack of information investigators have received on the remains.

“We are working on figuring out what type of braces she had and also on completing the facial reconstruction,” she said

Manhein said the facial reconstruction process can help give an image of an otherwise faceless body.

“We put down markers that tell us how thick to place clay across her face,” she said. “There are going to be around 25 or so markers.”

Once the markers are in place, Manhein said the team will begin rebuilding other facial features.

“There are formulas that help us determine the lengths and shapes of the nose and mouth,” she said. “We also have standards for young white females and what their faces look like that we go by.”

Manhein said once the face is sculpted, an image of the completed work is taken.

“We run this image through the computer and finesse it to make it look more face-like,” she said. “Then it turns essentially into a 2-D image.”

Manhein said the whole process is very technical.

“There is a science and art that goes into this,” she said.

The facial reconstruction typically leads to positive results, Manhein said.

“We will circulate this image all over the country,” she said. “It can help trigger something in someone that could help them recall the individual.”

Manhein said the most important thing of a facial reconstruction is that it publicizes the face of the unidentified person.

“This is our greatest way to help have success,” she said. “It draws attention to the case.”

Manhein said she did not know when the facial reconstruction would be complete.

The Catahoula Parish Sheriff’s Office has listed the case as a “suspicious death,” because no children in the area have been registered as missing.

The LSU FACES program, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the CPSO and the Louisiana State Police have all been working on identifying the remains.

Manhein said she believes the girl to be between the ages of 12 to 16, 5-feet-four-inches tall or shorter and with thick, brown hair.

Manhein also said the remains had been in the woods anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

The teen had braces with pink bands on the top row of her teeth.

Anyone with information about the remains is asked to call the Catahoula Sheriff’s Office at 318-744-5411.