In the USA, the remains of a girl who disappeared more than 50 years ago were identified: a genealogy site helped – News

Oregon State Police

American investigators have identified the remains of Sandra Young, a student at Grant High School in Portland, who disappeared in the late 1960s. They did it with the help of in-depth DNA analysis.

According to CNN, her remains were discovered in 1970 by the leader of a boy scout troop. They were buried in a shallow grave on Owl Island in Oregon. Then the investigators could not identify them.

However, more than half a century later, advanced DNA methods helped the police find out the name of the dead person. This happened because in January 2023, someone uploaded their DNA data to GEDMatch’s genealogy database.

“This person was immediately recognized as a potential distant family member,” – reported the state police.

Investigators were working with family members to obtain additional DNA samples. Family trees were also developed that eventually led to the identification of Sandra Young. She was born on June 25, 1951. She was last seen in Portland in 1968.

According to police, Sandra turned out to be the sister of one of the genetic partners who uploaded her DNA sample to the database.

The case is another example of how investigative genetic genealogy — a field that combines DNA evidence and traditional genealogy to reveal biological connections between people — is helping detectives solve cases and identify human remains found decades ago.

The Portland Police Bureau plans to conduct a further investigation to determine the circumstances of Sandra Young’s death.

We will remind, recently thanks to forensic genetic examination and DNA it was possible to establish the identity of a 23-year-old pregnant woman who died in 1992 in Fort Wayne, Indiana (USA).