WATCH ABOVE: Noreen Anne Greenley, 13, vanished more than 50 years ago, but her family never gave up the search. They hope an age progression sketch will help. Lama Nicolas has the story.
TORONTO — According to statistics, 41,342 children were reported missing in Canada in 2014. For many families there are swift reunions, but for some, the happy ending never comes.
Children grow quickly, and their appearances inevitably change. Forensic artists are often tasked with creating age progression renderings to show how a person might look years, or even decades later.
READ MORE: ‘It’s been hell’: family desperate for answers in Bowmanville cold case
“Forensic art is 75 per cent science and 25 per cent art,” said forensic artist Diana Trepkov from her Ajax, Ont., home.
Trepkov worked with the family of Bowmanville, Ont., girl Noreen Anne Greenley, who went missing at the age of 13 in 1953, to create a 50-year-age progression to aid the family as they continue their search.
Trepkov said the eyes are the anchor of the image.
“The eyes are mirror to the soul and gravity takes over,” said Trepkov. “The nose, it doesn’t change, it’ll just droop a bit more. The ears droop a bit more, the lips sometime might get a bit thinner. Eyes are always the eyes.”
Meanwhile, time, body weight and lifestyle choices take their toll on other features.
“It’s all gravity. If you’re a drinker, smoker, do drugs, you’re going to age a lot faster.”
Here are some guidlines she follows when “aging” a person:
- The eyes never change
- Nose and ears will droop
- Lips will get a bit thinner with age
- Neck is softer with wrinkles
- Jawline gets softer
- Teeth same as original
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