VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has awarded the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s office a grant to improve its techniques in identifying cold case victims.
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This funding will support advanced genetic genealogy techniques to help identify victims involved in unresolved criminal cases whose identities remain unknown.
Through this grant, the office can utilize innovative technologies in genetic research, aiming to provide identities and resolution to these cold cases
“We’re talking they’ll go back 8 to 10 generations, find a common ancestor, and then we or the police will identify that ancestor and say‚” Did you have a loved one go missing in 1972 in Florida? “Often, the answer is yes, and there’s your positive ID.”
— Dr. James Fulcher, Volusia County Medical Examiner
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These funds, allocated under the Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Grant Program, will be used for DNA analysis in four cases.
These involve unidentified victims of crimes and are the only cases currently under the Medical Examiner’s custody that meet the grant’s criteria.
This effort is aligned with a statewide initiative to leverage modern DNA analysis techniques to solve cold cases and establish the identities of unknown victims tied to criminal activities.
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The FDLE grant program aims to bolster the investigative capabilities of local and state agencies.
It supports the integration of forensic genetic genealogy with traditional laboratory testing and law enforcement methods, enhancing the ability to solve complex cases.
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