Chapter 9 - Missing Persons and Disaster Victim Identification Efforts

Abstract

There are three categories of samples associated with missing person's cases: direct reference samples, family reference samples, and unidentified human remains (UHR) samples. The UHR samples are generally skeletal remains (bones), teeth, or tissue. Some possible direct reference samples include medical samples from the missing individual, such as a newborn screening bloodspot or a biopsy sample. Personal effects, such as a toothbrush or hairbrush, may also provide direct reference samples. Family reference samples can be buccal swabs from close biological relatives, such as parents, children, or siblings of the missing individual. A DNA database plays an important role in helping to identify missing individuals over time. The missing persons database contains information that can be entered by the general public regarding an individual who has gone missing. Only medical examiners and coroners can enter information in the unidentified persons database, which describes bodies found but not yet identified. Mass disasters, whether natural or man-made, can involve loss of life for many victims of the tragedy. Efforts to identify these victims are referred to as disaster victim identification, or DVI. DNA testing has a major advantage in identifying each and every portion of the remains recovered from the disaster site, provided that there is sufficient intact DNA present to obtain a DNA type and a reference sample is available for comparison purposes from a surviving family member, or some verifiable personal item containing biological material.