Local law enforcement are trying to identify a man who appears to be in his 20s and may have been swimming in the area
THE WOODLANDS, Texas July 10, 2020
The Galveston County Medical Examiner’s office and Othram, the leading forensic sequencing laboratory for law enforcement, are working with the Galveston Police Department to help identify an unknown deceased black man found on a beach near Kahala Drive in Galveston, Texas. The decedent was found May 10 and the circumstances of death are unclear.
The Galveston Police Department has not been able to establish an ID from fingerprints and the decedent doesn’t match any record for missing persons. The decedent has been described as a male between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, with a height of five feet seven inches and a weight of about 150 pounds. He was wearing black shorts, grey Calvin Klein boxers, and his hands were fitted through white Under Armour sandals.
Galveston PD and The Galveston Medical Examiner’s Office are working with Othram to leverage forensic genealogy to establish an identification of, or to find nearest kin to the decedent. Anyone with information about the decedent is encouraged to contact the Galveston Medical Examiner’s office at 409-935-9274. A fund has been established to cover the costs of testing for this case. Those wishing to contribute can contact the Galveston Medical Examiner’s office or contribute here. This case is logged in NamUs as UP69355.
UPDATE 9/04/2020: From initial DNA analysis we suspect a substantial part of the victim's ancestry is East African. Analysis suggests that genetically, this individual could be Somali Bantu or Kenyan Bantu.
Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence. Othram’s scientists are experts at recovery, enrichment, and analysis of human DNA from trace quantities of degraded or contaminated materials. Founded in 2018, and located in The Woodlands, Texas, our team works with academic researchers, forensic scientists, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies to achieve results when other approaches have failed. Follow Othram on Twitter @OthramTech or visit Othram.com to learn how we can help you with your case. Visit dnasolves.com to learn how anyone can make a difference in helping solve the next cold case.
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