Detectives hope DNA testing will help solve case after shoe containing woman's foot washes ashore
The Spotlight: Genetic Informants
Just how long is the Long Arm of the Law? Again and again, criminals are finding out ? arrested for decades-old crimes thanks to a particular form of DNA evidence: Genetic Genealogy. Now, on the anniversary of the first-ever murder to test this technique in a court of law, the Spotlight talks with a Pulitzer Prize-winning author about the origins of genetic genealogy and where it goes from here ? there are other uses besides murder cases. Plus we show you the tool now being deployed in Washington state that?s finding evidence where none was thought to be present: just how does the M-VAC system work?
PORT ANGELES, Wash. - Detectives are hoping that DNA testing will help them solve a Jane Doe cold case after a shoe containing a woman's foot washed ashore in Western Washington.
In Dec. 2021, a shoe containing a foot was found in Port Angeles near the mouth of the Elwha River. It was a woman's size 8 New Balance shoe.
But despite efforts to solve the case, the woman's identity remains a mystery.
The sheriff's office has teamed up with Texas-based Othram labs to see if DNA testing could help identify this woman or a close relative.
In this age of crowdfunding crimefighting, detectives are hoping the public will donate dollars and DNA for this effort.
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Anyone with information should contact the Clallam County Sheriff's Office.