At left is the witness’s drawing; Bolivian law prohibits revealing the identity of the suspect, so media outlets covered his face with the sketch, right.
Reason #381 why you should always have your camera with you: earlier this year Bolivian police issued a statement asking people to come forward who might have seen a murder suspect. Soon a woman emerged saying she had an image of the man they were looking for. Of course, that image was all in her head.
Rafael Vargas, a Bolivian taxi driver, was killed in an apparent drug-related hit in March, leaving police officials baffled. So they asked locals to step forward with any information. One neighbor bravely answered the call and supplied police with her own rendering of what the suspect looked like.
The witness’s hand-drawn memory of the man (above left) is being called the worst photo-fit/suspect sketch to ever actually be used in a criminal man-hunt. People say the drawing looks like the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, and more like a child’s doodle than an important piece of forensic evidence. The video of a newsman presenting the image on television, complete with intense music and close-ups, has even become a hit on YouTube.
Still, despite all the laughter the drawing has elicited, it actually ended up being helpful and led to the suspect’s capture. And the drawing has lived on in media broadcasts, because Bolivian laws restrict news organizations from revealing the identity of the suspect. Instead of his real face they use the sketch (above right).
So while the artist-witness should be commended for stepping forward and helping solve a crime, those without her uncanny photographic memory would be better off using an actual camera.
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