Yuman helped identify remains following attacks

Robert Vigil, investigator for the Yuma County medical examiner's office, had the grave job of helping to identify remains following the terrorist attacks in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.

Vigil is not authorized to release the details of his work with victims.

“Once mobilized, they are considered federal employees and can't talk to the media,” Sheriff's Office Major Leon Wilmot previously explained.

Yuma Sun archive stories report that Vigil, 48, has been deployed to various large-scale emergencies, including the terrorist attacks and American Airlines crash in Queens, N.Y., both in 2001, and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005.

He also responded to the 2000 Alaska Airlines crash off the coast of Oxnard, Calif., the Florida hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 and Hurricane Rita in Texas and Mississippi in 2005.

He was deployed to Haiti in the earthquake's aftermath in Port-Au-Prince in 2010 where his duties included helping identify and return the remains of U.S. citizens to their families.

Vigil is a deputy commander of Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team Region 9, which is a part of the FEMA National Disaster Medical System. He has been a member since 1999.

Team members, as intermittent federal employees, are activated following a mass fatality incident. They include medical examiners, coroners, forensic anthropologists, fingerprint specialists, forensic odontologists, mental health specialists and others.

He joined the county in 2008 and previously worked as a contractor for the medical examiner. Prior to that, he worked as mortuary manager with Johnson Mortuary in Yuma.

As the county medical examiner investigator, Vigil responds to all deaths of unknown cause and conducts the on-scene investigation, processes the individuals, arranges transportation to the morgue for autopsy and coordinates transportation to Tucson for further forensic examination if needed.

The county is “lucky to have him,” Wilmot said. “Just to have that knowledge and expertise in the event we ever have a large-scale emergency is a very valuable asset.

“When he joined the department, he asked if we wanted him to maintain his certification and we overwhelmingly said yes, it's a valuable resource.”

Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or (928) 539-6856.