BiometricsRapid DNA Identifies Boat Fire Victims
Thirty-four people died in a tragic boat fire on 2 September 2019, off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, California. Thanks to a technology funded by the DHS S&T, the 33 passengers and one crew member who died were quickly identified.
Thirty-four people died in a tragic boat fire on 2 September 2019, off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, California. Five crew members escaped with injuries after calling for help, but the intense fire aboard the Conception dive boat left the other victims unrecognizable. Thanks to a technology funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and developed by Massachusetts- and Colorado-based ANDE Corporation, the 33 passengers and one crew member who died were quickly identified.
“The Santa Barbara Sheriff-Coroner relied heavily on a Rapid DNA instrument to identify the victims in 10 days,” said Chris Miles, the S&T Program Manager who led the S&T Rapid DNA project. “That is an amazingly fast resolution to the disaster that just wouldn’t have been possible before.”
The Rapid DNA instrument was on loan from another California jurisdiction – the Sacramento County Coroner and one of her deputies brought their own instrument, used last year during the Camp Fire, to help with the Santa Barbara incident.
“It’s so great to see expertise being passed on to other local agencies,” Miles said.
Background
S&T says that the Rapid DNA instrument, the size of a desktop printer, was a result of the DHS S&T Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, which challenges industry to bring innovative homeland security solutions to reality. DHS sought a technology that can quickly analyze DNA to verify family relationships (kinship) and identify victims of mass casualty events and human trafficking. The ANDE corporation received an investment of more than $5 million from DHS S&T to develop the Rapid DNA instrument that identifies samples in as little as 90 minutes.
The traditional turn-around time for DNA analysis is months or even years. ‘Why?’ wondered Dr. Richard Selden before he founded the ANDE Corporation. Due to backlog, results can take from six to 24 months.
“I created the term ‘Rapid DNA’ as shorthand for a system that would allow nontechnical users to generate DNA identifications outside the lab in less than two hours,” said Selden. He founded ANDE Corporation in 2004 specifically to develop Rapid DNA. “When I met Chris Miles more than 10 years ago, he believed in Rapid DNA, pursued it, found funding for it, and advocated for it. Chris believed Disaster Victim Identification would be a great application for Rapid DNA. All that played a major role in our success.”
