Day 3: Forensic Science

🚨 Case #2026-0517 · Redding, CA

Welcome, investigators.

You traded the stethoscope for a magnifying glass. Same skills — careful observation, working under pressure, working with a team. New case. Three suspects. Two pieces of evidence. 45 minutes to solve it.

📂 The Case — Sundial Bridge, Redding

At 6:14 AM on Monday, a park ranger walking the Sundial Bridge noticed something wrong. The bronze gnomon — the angled pointer that casts the shadow making this the world's largest working sundial — had been partially unscrewed from its base.

Whoever did it was interrupted before they could finish. They left two things behind:

  • A partial fingerprint on the polished bronze base of the gnomon
  • A handwritten note tucked into the railing nearby
📝 The note reads:

"The time has come to take what's owed."

Detectives have narrowed it down to three suspects. Each had a reason. Each had the opportunity. Only one left this evidence. Find the match.

👥 The Suspects

MC
Maria Cruz, 47
Former bridge maintenance technician

Worked on the Sundial Bridge for 8 years. Fired last month after a heated dispute with management over unpaid overtime. Knows the bridge — including the gnomon mounting — better than anyone.

Motive: Revenge. Alibi: Home alone Sunday night. No one can confirm.

JF
Jake Foster, 34
Amateur astronomer · runs a small observatory blog

Has filed three formal complaints with the Parks Department arguing the sundial's gnomon angle is "astronomically inaccurate" and that the bridge "lies to tourists every day." All three complaints were dismissed.

Motive: Believes he's "correcting" a public lie. Alibi: Says he was at Whiskeytown Lake watching a meteor shower. No one saw him.

SR
Sam Reyes, 28
Local sculptor & metalworker

Submitted a competing sundial design to the city three years ago. It was rejected in favor of the current installation. Has been openly bitter — quoted in the local paper saying the current sundial is "an insult to working artists."

Motive: Wants the current installation discredited. Alibi: Working in their studio. Studio security camera shows them leaving at 11:00 PM Sunday.

🔍 Phase I — Fingerprint Analysis (15 min)

No two fingerprints are identical — not even between identical twins. Forensic analysts classify them into three main patterns:

  • Loop — ridges curve back on themselves. Most common (~65% of people).
  • Whorl — ridges form a circular or spiral pattern. About 30%.
  • Arch — ridges rise and fall in a wave, no loops. About 5%.
Instructions
Part I: Make your own print
In your case packet
  • Ink pad (shared in group)
  • Wet wipes
  • Your investigator log
  • 3 suspect fingerprint cards
  • 1 scene fingerprint card
  1. Press your right thumb firmly onto the ink pad. Roll it slightly.
  2. Press your thumb onto the box on your investigator log. Roll it from one side to the other — don't smudge.
  3. Clean your thumb with a wet wipe.
  4. Look at your print. Is it a loop, whorl, or arch? Circle it on your log.
Instructions
Part II: Match the scene print to a suspect

Look at the scene fingerprint card from your packet. This is the partial print pulled off the bronze gnomon base.

  1. What pattern is it? Loop, whorl, or arch?
  2. Now look at the three suspect fingerprint cards (Maria, Jake, Sam).
  3. Which suspect's print pattern matches the scene?
  4. Record your finding on your investigator log. Don't tell other groups yet.
Real forensics: Real analysts don't just match patterns — they count individual minutiae points (tiny ridge endings and forks). A legal match usually requires 12+ matching points. Today you're working with patterns only.
✍️ Phase II — Handwriting Analysis (15 min)

Forensic document examiners are real scientists. They study handwriting features that are hard for people to fake — habits we develop in childhood and don't think about.

What they look for:

  • Slant — does the writing tilt right, left, or stand straight?
  • Letter style — cursive, print, or a mix?
  • Specific letter formation — how is the same letter drawn each time? The crossbar on a 't'. The loop on an 'e'. The shape of an 'o'. The angle of an apostrophe.
  • Pressure — heavy or light?
  • Spacing — tight or generous?
Instructions
Part I: Write your own sample

On your investigator log, write this exact phrase in your normal handwriting:

"The time has come to take what's owed."

Now look at your sample. Right slant, left slant, or straight up? Print, cursive, or mixed? Circle the answers on your log.

Instructions
Part II: Compare the ransom note to suspect samples

In your case packet you have:

  • The original ransom note photo
  • A handwriting sample from each suspect writing the same phrase

Lay them all out side by side. For each suspect, mark on your investigator log:

  • Slant match? Yes / No
  • Letter style match? (cursive / print / mixed)
  • Letter formation match? Pick 2–3 letters that appear multiple times in the note (try t, e, or o). Find those same letters in each suspect's sample. Are they shaped the same way?

Decide as a group: whose handwriting matches? Mark your verdict on the log.

⚖️ Investigator's Verdict
Who did it?

Each group decides together. Look at your two pieces of evidence:

  • Which suspect's fingerprint pattern matches the scene?
  • Which suspect's handwriting matches the note?

If both point to the same person — you've got your suspect. Hold up your group's verdict card (Maria / Jake / Sam) when Chris calls for the vote.

🛑 STOP — wait for Chris's signal before scrolling past this line

✅ Case Closed
It was ....

The fingerprint on the gnomon base was a whorl — matching ..... The handwriting on the note matched their exemplar — same slant, same letter style, same individual letter formations. Document examiners found over a dozen matching features.

They confessed when investigators showed him the evidence. They really had been trying to "correct" the gnomon — they believed he was performing a public service.

Were they wrong? The gnomon on the Sundial Bridge is actually set for true solar noon at the bridge's exact latitude. Their calculations used a different reference point. The bridge wasn't wrong. They were.

🎓 Careers that use these exact skills

Forensic Scientists (Bachelor's in chemistry, biology, or forensic science) · Crime Scene Investigators (Bachelor's + police academy or specialized cert) · Forensic Document Examiners (specialized training, often after a Bachelor's) · Fingerprint Analysts (Associate's or Bachelor's + IAI certification) · Forensic Lab Technicians (2-year degree) · Detectives (promoted from patrol after police academy) · Forensic Anthropologists (PhD)

What you just did is real forensics, scaled down. Real analysts spend hours on a single print and weeks on a single document. The patience and attention to detail is the same.

⭐ Over three days, you've done all of this

Day 1 — Observed: pulse oximetry, blood pressure, stethoscope listening, pupil response.
Day 2 — Acted: chest compressions, rescue breaths, sutures, X-ray reading, anatomy.
Day 3 — Solved: fingerprint analysis, handwriting analysis, evidence-based reasoning.

These are real skills. Real careers use them. You just got a glimpse of three of them.

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