"The strategy could be fruitful: If unidentified DNA evidence can be connected to someone even a distant relative in a common genealogical database, it would give investigators more information and possibly lead to a suspect in Guthrie's kidnapping in Arizona. It's a fantastic tool, said Ruth Ballard, a geneticist in California who specializes in DNA and has testified in hundreds of court cases. If it's a good quality sample and they're able to get a profile, they could find a hit on that fairly quickly."
"The sheriff's department in Pima County, Arizona, said DNA collected so far in the investigation has not turned up any matches in a national criminal justice database known as CODIS, which has DNA profiles from convicted criminals and, in some states, people arrested for certain crimes. Investigators are currently looking into additional investigative genetic genealogy options for DNA evidence to check for matches. CODIS is one option of many databases that are available, the sheriff's department said Tuesday."
Nancy Guthrie has been missing from her Tucson-area home since Feb. 1. Biological evidence from her home is being examined and DNA profiles are at a lab for analysis. DNA collected so far produced no matches in the national CODIS criminal database. Investigators are considering investigative genetic genealogy to check common genealogical and other databases for partial or distant-relative matches. Gloves found about two miles away appear to match gloves worn by a masked suspect on a porch camera. Genealogy companies say they can be asked to comply with court orders; some sites require user opt-in for law enforcement searches.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]