Family of kidnapped Fort Worth woman used a commercial DNA testing kit to help find her

David Montesino
·2 min read
1

Melissa Highsmith was 22 months old when she was kidnapped by a babysitter in 1971.

She lived in Fort Worth for most of her life and did not know she was missing or that her biological family was looking for her. Her family hired an amateur genealogist and had a commercial DNA test done that led them to a Fort Worth woman who went by Melanie Brown.

Fort Worth police confirmed the DNA test months after the Highsmiths found Melissa in 2022.

“It is our hope that this test result will offer additional closure for the Highsmith family,” police said in a news release.

DNA testing kits are common tools to find lost relatives

At-home DNA testing kits are available for people who want to learn more about their ethnic roots or discover connections to past and contemporary relatives. Even if the person being sought has not taken a test, someone related to her may have.

The New York Times recommends three commercial outfits that sell DNA testing kits: AncestryDNA, 23andMe and FamilyTreeDNA.

So, what types of DNA tests are available to help families locate lost loved ones? There are three ways to look for DNA matches with autosomal, Y-DNA and mitochondrial tests.

What is autosomal DNA testing?

Autosomal DNA testing is the most common commercial method. This particular DNA is contained in the autosomes that we inherit from both of our parents. The autosomes are the chromosomes other than the two sex chromosomes (X and Y) which contain most of our DNA sequences and genes.

How far back does it test for? Ancestry companies can confidently track back to the most recent 5-7 generations.

What does it look for? They do this by focusing on the genetic markers in our 23 pairs of chromosomes to find similarities.

What is Y-DNA testing?

This test can only be taken men since the Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) is passed on from fathers to sons. Women will need to find a suitable candidate for test such as their father, brother, uncle or cousin.

Why use this method? Since this test follows the male chromosome it follows the path of a particular surname. This can also be used to trace illegitimate lines.

What does it look for? Y-DNA tests looks for STR (short-term repeats) markers — repeating sequences of DNA letters. The repeats are added up to determine the match.

What is mitochondrial DNA?

This method can trace back the farthest in any family line. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down directly from mothers to her children without interaction from the father’s DNA. This means the DNA mutates 10 times slower thus allowing testers to dig deeper into our past.

How far back does it tests for? Because the tests looks for the slower mutating mitochondrial DNA it can go farther back, like 100,000 years.