Occasionally, investigators will go back to their older evidence for DNA testing–a technology that didn’t exist at the time. It can be tricky, though, because evidence-handling procedures and attitudes have changed significantly over time; some of that evidence could have touched other evidence and had genetic material transferred to it. The Vancouver Police Department now has highly advanced drying lockers and handling procedures that both greatly reduce the possibility of cross-contamination.

Perhaps someday we’ll have the chance to open up the Blood Drying Room for the occasional public visit. In the meantime, it remains–for visitors aware of its existence–a delicious and unsettling mystery two floors below you.