But what if you are found, but it is unclear who you are and you are buried somewhere in the world as an unknown dead person? There is a body, but no identity. A ceremony without the presence of loved ones. It remains painful when we as police do not get the chance to provide answers to the bereaved.
It depends on DNA
Sometimes it concerns a disappearance from long ago, generations apart. Sometimes people do not know what has happened to their family member in the past, the stories have not been told or have always remained unknown. In some cases, people believe that the police have the file in hand and they will hear something automatically, but that is not always the reality.
“Not all disappearances were always reported, secured, or transferred to the right teams in the past,” says Enny Alssema, a specialist from the Missing Persons Team in Northern Netherlands. Her team works daily to give unknown dead people an identity. Enny: “Every person has an identity and every grave deserves a name. But whether we uncover that identity depends not only on traces or tips that come in. It depends on whether DNA from the missing person or their relatives has been secured.”
Profile of missing persons, relatives, or unidentified dead
Since 2007, the police have owned a DNA database, specifically for missing persons and their relatives. In this database, three types of DNA profiles are stored. These are the profiles of missing persons, the DNA of unidentified dead or body parts, and the DNA of relatives. “We can compare this data when we are confronted with an unknown deceased person or human remains,” says Enny.
Unknowingly in ignorance
But for old disappearances, before the arrival of the DNA database, it is the case that in most cases no DNA has been secured. Enny: “And that can lead to an unknown dead person being buried without a name. Meanwhile, there are still relatives, unknowingly in ignorance.” Enny and her colleagues work hard every day to complete this data.
“But we depend on the survivors,” says Enny. “We keep calling on them to come forward to us and provide DNA. It can be decisive in a case and in this way, we can give unknown dead people an identity. No one can and should be born without a name and die without one. That is the biggest driving force of our team.”
Are you a close relative of a long-missing person, such as your brother, mother, child, nephew, or uncle? Please provide your DNA to the police. Send your details to coldcase@politie.nl.
| The use of DNA in an investigation into a (long-term) disappearance is an effective tool for the police. This happens at both national and international levels. Providing DNA is always on a voluntary basis and with a signed consent form. This form describes what happens to someones DNA during the investigation. This police DNA database is not linked to the DNA database for criminal cases. This has to do with privacy. The purpose of voluntarily providing DNA is solely to find a missing person. As long as the disappearance is not resolved, the DNA remains in the database, and daily automatic DNA searches take place. |