Identifinders Blog

DNA Rule-Out for Cold Case, Australia, 1970 – Part I
A crime that could not escape media attention in Australia, any more than the Manson family murders could have evaded the public eye here in the States-Elmer

Unknown Child on the Titanic – Part IV (Conclusion)
When AFDIL attempted an identification through Y-DNA, I was asked by my colleague Dr. Odile Loreille to find a Y-DNA reference for Sidney Goodwin. We were just finishing up the

Unknown Child on the Titanic – Part III
To understand what happened next, you have to know a little about mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Mitochondrial DNA is contained in small, football-shaped inclusions outside the

Unknown Child on the Titanic – Part II
After eight and a half decades, there was little left of the child’s body. Only a small piece of wrist bone and the crowns of

Unknown Child on the Titanic – Part I
On April 20-23 1912, on its mission from Halifax to salvage remains from the Titanic, the crew of the cable ship Mackay-Bennett pulled 306 bodies from the frigid

Jeni's Family Reunion
Jeni Reed was raised by her maternal grandmother and knew almost nothing about her dad Thomas McKay. Yet we were able to find him! I surprised