Rapid DNA analysis will be used to ID California boat fire victims. Here's how it works
CAMARILLO, Calif. – As officials wrap up the recovery of bodies from the Conception boat fire, they are moving to identify the victims' remains.
Most, if not all, of those killed in Monday’s fire aboard the diving boat off Santa Cruz Island will need to be identified through DNA. That usually takes days or weeks, but authorities have access to a procedure that will shorten the wait to hours.
The same tool was used to identify victims of the Camp Fire, which devastated the town of Paradise, California, last year.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office is assisting in the identification process for the 34 scuba enthusiasts aboard the Conception when it caught fire and sank.
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Identification will be done using a rapid DNA analysis device developed by ANDE, a DNA-testing company based in Colorado. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office brought one testing device, and ANDE donated a second device, which was shipped overnight from Colorado.
Traditional DNA testing requires samples to be shipped to a lab. Rapid DNA analysis eliminates this step through a portable device. Traditional tools are not as effective in identifying samples when tissue has been damaged by extreme heat.
The rapid DNA process begins with collecting samples, which is very similar to conventional DNA analysis, according to John Sims, ANDE’s chief operating officer. Family members provide a saliva sample through a swab from the inside of their mouth. Samples from recovered victims can either be blood or bone, depending on the condition of the remains.
Samples go into the ANDE device, which looks like a big desktop printer. The device can analyze up to four samples simultaneously in 90 minutes. Each sample is assigned a “DNA ID” unique to the individual.
Individuals have two values for each location on their DNA ID – one inherited from their mother and one from their father. These values are used to match family members with victims.
‘Emerging tech’ used elsewhere in California
Rapid DNA analysis was used to identify victims of the Camp Fire in 2018, the first time the technology was used after a natural disaster.
“We’re utilized by quite a number of law enforcement agencies for crime scene investigations and also are used by U.S. special operations forces in some of their overseas deployment work,” Sims said. The device is “still classified somewhat as emerging technology, but no longer new.”
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A total of 85 people died during the Camp Fire, and Sims estimated about 85% of victims were positively identified through rapid DNA analysis. The others were identified using other methods, such as dental records. According to Sims, most of the remains from the Camp Fire were bones, but the situation could be different for the Conception fire.
Difficulties can arise when remains from different individuals are mixed together; there were some instances of this from the Camp Fire. Sims said the ANDE technology can identify when a sample is mixed from different individuals, and the process then enters a secondary step in which scientists analyze the data with more sophisticated technology.
The main barrier to any type of DNA analysis is getting good samples, both from victims and family members.
“To do any processing, you must collect a good sample and must have the right process for collecting these samples to make sure the DNA doesn’t become contaminated, but that is not particular to rapid DNA; it is something you need to have in place for any DNA processing,” Sims said.
The rapid DNA process could provide some measure of closure to grieving families.
“Getting answers quickly has a lot of benefits, and using rapid DNA analysis provides quicker answers to families who have lost everything,” Sims said.
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How the technique will be used this time
“There was an extraordinarily hot fire, and the bodies exhibit signs of extreme thermal damage,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a news conference Tuesday. “Many, if not all, of the victims will need to be recovered through DNA analysis.”
The bodies are being transported to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau.
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Investigators are coordinating with family members to collect DNA samples, which will be compared with samples from victims. As of Tuesday, investigators had contacted 30 of the 34 victims’ family members.
Brown asked any family members of possible victims who have not contacted his agency to do so to begin the DNA sampling process. Family members can call 833-688-5551.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California boat fire victims: Officials to ID bodies with DNA analysis
