Skagit County Coroner to request DNA idientification of unclaimed remains
(SKAGIT COUNTY)- The Skagit County Coroner has received a request from Genetics Uncovered to attempt to identify unclaimed remains from a 1991 case through DNA evaluation. The Coroner’s Office submits all unidentified cases to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), which can help connect long-term missing persons cases with unclaimed remains. Organizations such as Genetics Uncovered help to provide funding for DNA evaluation of unclaimed remains in NamUs in the hopes of connecting those remains with family members, according to a news release from the county.
The first step to identify skeletal remains begins with a consultation from the Washington State Anthropologist at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Depending on how complete the remains are, this report can provide useful information for identification such as age range, height, and racial profile. If the remains have a skull with teeth, a forensic odontologist can conduct a consultation for dental comparison. From King County, the case is submitted to a nationally funded waitlist for DNA identification through the Combined DNA Identification System (CODIS), the national DNA database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This process can take several years due to a backlog of requests, and only certain cases are prioritized on this list, such as homicides and indigenous cases. If the Coroner’s office were to submit for DNA evaluation without national funding, the cost would be approximately $2,000.
If there is no match in CODIS, the next step is a forensic genetic genealogical profile (FGG), which costs between $8,000 - $10,000. The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office has funded several cases to be processed for FGG through the Othram Lab in Texas. Skagit County has limited funds for DNA processing and FGG evaluations, which means not all unidentified remains can be identified through DNA without private funding support.
The Coroner’s Office has recently been able to find a familial match for unidentified remains from a 1989 case. The process was funded by a retired detective who had previously investigated the case and did not wish for the decedent to continue to be unidentified. An anthropology consult was completed in 2019, and the DNA was submitted to the national database waitlist. In September 2024, the case was accepted off the waitlist for funding and submittal to CODIS. While there was no information found in CODIS, the case was sent to the Othram Lab for FGG and Othram found familial leads for further investigation.