CLACKAMAS -- The State Medical Examiner's Office has posted two new forms on its website in hopes of tipping the odds in missing-persons cases.
Dr. Karen Gunson, state medical examiner, said the office is partnering with the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, a state-of-the-art facility that offers free DNA analysis.
The new online forms, which must be submitted by families of missing persons or by police, were designed to speed up the process of getting scientifically solid information.
"Because the Oregon State Police Forensic Services Division doesn't perform DNA analysis on missing person cases, our office put the required forms online to help facilitate the successful submission of DNA samples to the center's lab," Gunson said. "We hope having these forms online can help the center, families and investigators bring closure in cases that sadly ended in someone's death."
In 2008, Oregon's Missing Persons Law went into effect, requiring police to try to obtain DNA samples for people who haven't been found within 30 days after they were reported missing.
Gunson said DNA for a missing-person investigation can be collected from items used only by the missing person, such as a toothbrush, razor or lipstick, or from a medical specimen preserved at a hospital.
Another way is to collect oral swabs from family members. Police now use special DNA collection kits to gather samples.
When a DNA sample is submitted for analysis to the Center for Human Identification, one of the two forms is required to be sent with it:
The Family Reference Samples form is for law enforcement and families when submitting biological samples (oral swabs, blood cards) from biological relatives of missing persons.
The Direct Reference Sample form is for any article associated with the missing person that may contain biological material (toothbrush, hairbrush with hair, blood sample, or hospital sample).
Monday, 5 March 2012
http://www.oregonlive.com/happy-valley/index.ssf/2012/03/oregon_missing-persons_cases_g.html
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