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Press release for 11/10/2012 DNA Collection
DNA Collection Offered to Help Identify Missing Loved Ones
GREENSBORO, NC (September 18, 2012) Earlier this month, 10-year-old Isiah Amari Terry was the 506th person to be reported missing in Greensboro this year. Fortunately, Terry was located unharmed less than one block away and 18 hours after his parents reported him missing. The precocious ten
year old, like 85% of our reported missing persons, was found.
But for the families and friends of the 15% still unaccounted for, the open-ended loss of a loved one can be unbearable anguish.
The sad reality is that many of these people are never heard from again. Some go missing voluntarily - not wanting to be found. Others disappear as a result of accident, trauma, or catastrophe. And some are missing as a result of crime.
Regardless of the reason for the disappearances, often much-needed closure is obtained only when deceased loved ones are positively identified.
One of the best ways to confirm the identity is through DNA testing.
To help connect family members with missing loved ones and unidentified deceased persons, the Greensboro Police Department, in partnership with NamUs, is hosting a free DNA collection forum on November 10th from 10 am to 2 pm at the Eastern Division Police Substation, 1106 Maple Street.
Families members affected by the disappearance of a loved one from anywhere in the United States can provide DNA reference samples for upload into the National DNA Database, and register their relative in a national repository for missing and unidentified persons.
NamUs (pronounced Name Us), a program spearheaded by the National Institute of Justice, is a searchable, online database for case information on missing persons and unidentified remains. It can be accessed by the general public, law enforcement, and state and local agencies that are not part of law enforcement such as a county medical examiner. It is designed to assist individuals and organizations who investigate missing and unidentified persons.
Currently, NamUs has 229 missing North Carolinians registered in its database: the FBIs National Crime Information Center indicates that the Tarheel State has more than 1,300 missing persons. In Greensboro, 506 persons have been reported missing this year. Of those, 76 have not been located.
It is important that these missing persons also be added to the NamUs database, explained Betty Brown, Victim Advocate for NamUs. This will increase the chances of matching the biological profile for comparison to unidentified persons across the nation.
Greensboro police and NamUs are especially encouraging family members of missing immigrants and migrant workers to participate in this event. All too frequently, when a member of our undocumented population goes missing, no report is filed, said Captain Mike Richey, Commander of GPDs Criminal Investigations Division. We understand the family members concerns. We also understand the agony and uncertainty of not knowing what happened to a loved one. We want to help NamUs bring peace to these families.
To provide the best comparison for DNA matches, NamUs must collect saliva samples from two of the missing persons immediate family members, such as parents, siblings, or offspring. NamUs also accepts DNA references samples that came directly from the person. These samples can include: toothbrushes, teeth, unlaundered clothes, hair.
Representatives from NamUs will help enter missing person information into their database during the DNA collection forum. If you have already filed a police report for your missing loved one, please bring a copy of that report with you, asks Brown. Information about that report will be important (e.g., agency and case number). If no police report has been taken, be prepared to answer questions about your loved one, such as his/her full name, date of birth, and circumstances of disappearance.
For more information regarding this event contact:
Betty Brown
Victim Advocate / NamUs Academy Alumni, North Carolina
336‐293‐6313
Email: jbrown058@triad.rr.com
Clyde Gibbs Jr.
Medical Examiner Specialist OCME
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 - 7580
919-445-4443
Email: Clyde.Gibbs@dhhs.nc.gov
DNA Collection Offered to Help Identify Missing Loved Ones
GREENSBORO, NC (September 18, 2012) Earlier this month, 10-year-old Isiah Amari Terry was the 506th person to be reported missing in Greensboro this year. Fortunately, Terry was located unharmed less than one block away and 18 hours after his parents reported him missing. The precocious ten
year old, like 85% of our reported missing persons, was found.
But for the families and friends of the 15% still unaccounted for, the open-ended loss of a loved one can be unbearable anguish.
The sad reality is that many of these people are never heard from again. Some go missing voluntarily - not wanting to be found. Others disappear as a result of accident, trauma, or catastrophe. And some are missing as a result of crime.
Regardless of the reason for the disappearances, often much-needed closure is obtained only when deceased loved ones are positively identified.
One of the best ways to confirm the identity is through DNA testing.
To help connect family members with missing loved ones and unidentified deceased persons, the Greensboro Police Department, in partnership with NamUs, is hosting a free DNA collection forum on November 10th from 10 am to 2 pm at the Eastern Division Police Substation, 1106 Maple Street.
Families members affected by the disappearance of a loved one from anywhere in the United States can provide DNA reference samples for upload into the National DNA Database, and register their relative in a national repository for missing and unidentified persons.
NamUs (pronounced Name Us), a program spearheaded by the National Institute of Justice, is a searchable, online database for case information on missing persons and unidentified remains. It can be accessed by the general public, law enforcement, and state and local agencies that are not part of law enforcement such as a county medical examiner. It is designed to assist individuals and organizations who investigate missing and unidentified persons.
Currently, NamUs has 229 missing North Carolinians registered in its database: the FBIs National Crime Information Center indicates that the Tarheel State has more than 1,300 missing persons. In Greensboro, 506 persons have been reported missing this year. Of those, 76 have not been located.
It is important that these missing persons also be added to the NamUs database, explained Betty Brown, Victim Advocate for NamUs. This will increase the chances of matching the biological profile for comparison to unidentified persons across the nation.
Greensboro police and NamUs are especially encouraging family members of missing immigrants and migrant workers to participate in this event. All too frequently, when a member of our undocumented population goes missing, no report is filed, said Captain Mike Richey, Commander of GPDs Criminal Investigations Division. We understand the family members concerns. We also understand the agony and uncertainty of not knowing what happened to a loved one. We want to help NamUs bring peace to these families.
To provide the best comparison for DNA matches, NamUs must collect saliva samples from two of the missing persons immediate family members, such as parents, siblings, or offspring. NamUs also accepts DNA references samples that came directly from the person. These samples can include: toothbrushes, teeth, unlaundered clothes, hair.
Representatives from NamUs will help enter missing person information into their database during the DNA collection forum. If you have already filed a police report for your missing loved one, please bring a copy of that report with you, asks Brown. Information about that report will be important (e.g., agency and case number). If no police report has been taken, be prepared to answer questions about your loved one, such as his/her full name, date of birth, and circumstances of disappearance.
For more information regarding this event contact:
Betty Brown
Victim Advocate / NamUs Academy Alumni, North Carolina
336‐293‐6313
Email: jbrown058@triad.rr.com
Clyde Gibbs Jr.
Medical Examiner Specialist OCME
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 - 7580
919-445-4443
Email: Clyde.Gibbs@dhhs.nc.gov
