Othram and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases, have announced their partnership to develop and deploy forensic DNA testing tools to help reconnect missing and unidentified persons with their families.
Othram is the world’s only laboratory purpose-built to combine genome sequencing with advanced human identification applications. The laboratory is also the first facility in the United States or Canada offering end-to-end, in-house processing from forensic evidence to forensic genetic genealogy leads. Over the last three years, this technology has helped law enforcement crack cases at the local, state, and federal level, many of which had been unsolved for decades.
The NamUs contract was awarded to RTI International in 2021 to continue operation of the database and enhance the availability of forensic services and resources available to law enforcement agencies in the U.S. All NamUs resources are provided at no cost to law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, allied forensic professionals, and family members through funding from the National Institute of Justice.
To date, NamUs houses over 59,800 missing persons and 14,500 unidentified human remains cases and has helped investigators, coroners, and medical examiners solve more than 30,300 missing persons cases and identify over 5,700 decedents from their remains. The NamUs team has extensive experience serving the forensic community and are continuing to advance the NamUs mission through a diverse network of partnerships with organizations such as Othram.
In September 2022, through the NamUs/Othram partnership, a woman murdered in 1980 and found dismembered in the trunk of a car, was finally identified as Anne L. Papalardo-Blake of New York City. In April 2022, also through the partnership, skeletal remains recovered in 1984 near the Powell Ranger Station in Idaho were identified as missing U.S. Air Force Veteran, Roger Brian Bennett. Several more joint investigations are underway.
Press release by Othram.