Credit: DNA Doe Project
In 1994, police in Seabrook, New Hampshire seized a human skull from a local business. The business owner claimed he had purchased the skull in New York, but investigators were unable to determine where it originated. Now, thanks to the application of investigative genetic genealogy, new information has been revealed in the cold case of Little Lost Seabrook Doe. Additionally, a new facial reconstruction has been created by renowned forensic artist Carl Koppleman to show what she may have looked like.
In the decades since it was discovered, two forensic anthropologists have studied the skull and determined that it belonged to a girl aged 7-9 years old, who had likely died 2-10 years prior. They also found that the skull had been exposed to the elements for an extended period of time before being cleaned and displayed.
The New Hampshire State Police later brought this case to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify Jane and John Does, but efforts to identify this girl have been complicated by a lack of close DNA matches and little information about how her skull ended up in New Hampshire.
“When we started our work, we didn’t know what to expect,” said team co-leader Gwen Knapp. “The skull could be an historical specimen or imported from abroad, but it could also belong to a girl born and raised in the US. It’s a mystery.”
However, the team’s research has now led to a significant development. We now know that Little Lost Seabrook Doe is of Greek heritage, with strong ties to the island of Chios in particular. It’s possible that she lived and died in Greece before her skull was transported to the US, but it’s also possible that she was born and raised in the US to parents with roots in Chios.
Furthermore, the team on this case has discovered a number of families that this young girl has connections to, all of whom originate in Chios. Surnames that appear in her family tree include Kaitis, Kladia, Fafalios, Mathioudis, Palios, Stamoulis, Menis, Antokas and Sideratos.
In order to uncover her identity, the DNA Doe Project is asking for the public’s assistance, especially from people whose families immigrated from Chios or still live there. Anyone who’s taken a consumer DNA test can upload it to the databases we have access to for our work – GEDmatch, DNA Justice and FamilyTreeDNA. We’ll then be able to see if they share DNA with this girl – if they do, we’ll know that they’re a relative of hers and this could lead us to her identity. Even if they’re only a distant relative, this might still help us – a single match is often all it takes to crack a cold case.
Republished courtesy of DNA Doe Project