The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL) is tasked with the solemn duty of identifying missing U.S. service members from previous military conflicts. Over the last decade, the DNA laboratory has advanced this mission by developing and implementing massively parallel sequencing (MPS) methods, including hybridization capture panels targeting the whole mitochondrial genome and nearly 95,000 nuclear SNPs. While these MPS methods have led to 500+ identifications through comparative analyses with family reference samples, a subset of cases remain unresolved. To address these challenging cases, AFMES-AFDIL initiated a proof-of-concept study to evaluate the feasibility of applying Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) to decades-old missing persons cases.

This pilot study targeted ten unresolved cases of service members from World War II. These cases were specifically selected because they had no family references available for the presumed service member or all previously considered individuals had been excluded through validated DNA testing methods. To generate genetic profiles from the compromised remains, samples were subjected to advanced MPS techniques, including whole genome sequencing (WGS) and two enrichment methods (PCR and hybridization capture) designed for FIGG. As needed, the data underwent genotype refinement and/or imputation to ensure compatibility for upload to genealogy databases. While WGS failed to produce sufficient data, both PCR and capture-based approaches successfully generated SNP profiles suitable for database upload in four cases. 

Genealogical research based on database matches from the capture profiles produced investigative leads for two of the ten individuals. However, this success was accompanied by significant challenges inherent to historical cases. These included inconsistencies in search results between different profile generation methods and/or database searches, historically resolved cases, the difficulty of working with distant genetic matches (beyond 7th degree), and complex genealogical reconstructions complicated by late 19th and early 20th century immigration to the United States. This presentation will detail the successful application of FIGG in a forensic context, highlight the lessons learned, and discuss the potential future and current limitations of this emerging investigative tool.

Disclaimer: The opinions or assertions presented hereafter are the private views of the speaker(s) and should not be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of Defense, its branches, the Defense Health Agency, or the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System.

Authors

• Kimberly Sturk-Andreaggi (Armed Forces Medical Examiner System – Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, United States of America)
• Andreas Tillmar (Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, Sweden)
• Jennifer Higginbotham (Armed Forces Medical Examiner System – Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, United States of America)
• Courtney Cavagnino (Armed Forces Medical Examiner System – Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, United States of America)
• Julie Demarest (Armed Forces Medical Examiner System – Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, United States of America)
• Suni Edson (Armed Forces Medical Examiner System – Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, United States of America)
• Suzanne Barritt-Ross (Armed Forces Medical Examiner System – Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, United States of America)