Othram, the leading forensic sequencing laboratory for law enforcement, is proud to announce the launch of a new project focused on the identification of 525 unidentified children. The project name and initial scope commemorates National Missing Children's Day, held each year on May 25.
National Missing Children's Day highlights the urgency of protecting children and reconnecting missing children with their families. This day raises awareness about the vulnerabilities children face and emphasizes the need for swift and effective action to identify remains and solve cases of missing children, who are nearly always the victims of crimes.
The importance of a nationwide repository for resources to resolve long-term missing persons and unidentified human remains cases cannot be overstated. Since 2022, Othram has worked in collaboration with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a program of the National Institute of Justice managed by RTI International, providing the program with cutting-edge genomic tools and genealogical research to help provide resolution to missing and unidentified cases across the country. Othram's Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing (FGGS) has been instrumental in solving numerous active and cold cases for local, state, and federal agencies across the United States and internationally. More forensic genetic genealogy cases have been solved with Othram FGGS than any other method.
To continue our support and joint mission, Othram will be working through five hundred twenty-five juvenile cases published in NamUs, as part of a special initiative titled “Project 525.” NamUs, the nation’s only federally legislated program providing technology, forensic, investigative, and analytical services to resolve all long-term missing and unidentified decedent cases, plays a crucial role in supporting these investigations. Of the more than 24,400 active missing persons cases NamUs is currently supporting, 24% involve juveniles. This is in addition to supporting 1,278 active unidentified decedent cases involving children. Therefore, by utilizing the efficient and comprehensive case assessment pathway established by NamUs, we will be able to help restore names back to the most vulnerable members of our population.
Recently, Othram and NamUs announced the joint resolution of a 1978 Lincoln County Coroner’s Office case involving the remains of a female initially thought to be those of a woman, age 30-40, but later determined to belong to Helen Renee Groomes, a 15-year-old victim of homicide. Cases like this underscore the need for collaborative case evaluation strategies, advanced genomic technologies, and centralized national resources, regardless of demographic or manner of death.
RTI and Othram collaborate beyond the NamUs program, working together on federal grants and business initiatives to make advanced forensic genetic techniques more accessible. Coupling RTI's extensive research capabilities with Othram’s cutting-edge genomic technologies and infrastructure, we aim to streamline and strengthen the use of forensic genetic genealogy in investigations by providing criminal justice agencies with better tools and resources to solve complex cases more efficiently.
Republished courtesy of Othram