BY Alexandra Mendoza
“I knew I would never see him again, but now I will [at least] get some closure,” expressed John Nellans, a father who wondered what happened to his son John Patrick for 31 years.
Last month, an investigator from the Medical Examiner’s Office informed him that his son’s DNA matched that of a body found in Clairemont in 2000.
Stories such as this one are what motivated said Office to host, for the first time ever, an event where family members can provide information that will enable them to look into what may have happened to a missing loved one.
On Saturday, March 19th, investigators and other authorities will hear dozens of cases and take DNA samples so they can compare the information provided against a nationwide unidentified remains database. To that end, they are asking people to bring their missing loved one’s dental records or x-rays (if available).
In San Diego County, there are 3,175 missing persons cases; some have been missing since 1958. In addition, because it is a border region, it is common for the Medical Examiner’s Office to receive unidentified bodies of people with “Hispanic features” who were found near the border with Mexico. To help address this, the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego will be there to advise Mexican nationals.
The Medical Examiner’s Office is asking people who have relatives who were last seen when they left home intending to cross into the U.S. without documents to go to the event and have a DNA test done.
“We specifically want the mothers or siblings of these people to come and give us a DNA sample. Getting the sample is a simple and painless procedure,” shared Investigations Unit Supervisor Julio Estrada. “The sample will be forwarded to the Department of Justice so they can identify the DNA and then compare it against existing samples.”
The San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office representative stated that a subject identification can be made, on average, 97% of the time thanks to cutting-edge technology and thorough investigation. He also invited those who will not be able to attend the event to visit the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System’s website (NamUs.gov) to see if they might have information regarding their missing loved one. The database currently has information on 2,121 cases in California, 92% of which are open investigations.
San Diego will be the third county in the state of California to host this type of event, which will take place on Saturday, March 19th, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Medical Examiner’s Office, located at 5570 Overland Avenue in Kearny Mesa.