A body has been discovered from a lake.
It is important to try and establish the identity of the victim as quickly as possible. Physical identification is the most common method used to identify a body but this is not always possible as the body may be too decomposed or disfigured.
If the body has not been in the water for long articles of clothing, jewellery, scars or tattoos may help to identify the victim. Bodies submerged in water tend to decompose more slowly unless the water is very polluted. However a body that has been in water for some time may be disfigured from the bloating effect of being in water. It is important to photograph the body quickly; particularly the face as feature may deteriorate quickly once the body starts to react to the warm air.
First you would try records of missing persons may give clues to possible victims and clothing or personal effects on the body may assist but this will not provide a definite identification so other forms of forensic identification should be used.
You may be lucky and find a wallet with there name and address in although this may be incorrect it is a good starting point.
Radiology should be taken which will detect fractures and can bee used to get the bone age of a child.
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Fingerprints are an accurate method of identifying bodies and an easy method of identification if a country keeps extensive fingerprint records. However fingerprints can be affected when a body has been in water for any length of time. In these cases, skin around the knuckle joint will need to be cut and the skin removed, and placed over the finger of the person collecting the evidence; who will be wearing a surgical glove and then the fingerprint can be taken. When the outer layers of the skin have peeled off applying ink to the underside of the skin may give a reverse imprint. If the ridges of the skin have disappeared through bloating you can put the skin in hot neatsfoot oil this will shrink the skin and may reveal the print.