Taking a closer look at technology used to identify missing Jefferson County man

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The remains of Bryant Keith Bates, a 21-year-old father who went missing in 1988, have been identified, 22 years after they were found.

The identification was possible using DNA genealogy technology developed by Texas-based company, Othram.

Rather than searching for an exact DNA match, Othram builds family trees using hundreds of thousands of DNA markers to create a person’s genetic profile. Traditional DNA testing uses around 20 markers.

“So these profiles are very comprehensive and allow essentially for the use of genealogical research and the building of family trees,” said Colby Lasyone, Othram’s chief of staff.

Lasyone said the expanded profiles allow investigators to identify distant relatives, not just immediate family members.

“These snip profiles with hundreds of thousands of DNA data points can be used to essentially identify individuals who are genetic relatives. So very distant relatives,” Lasyone said.

Othram says tens of thousands of people across the country remain unidentified.

The identification of Bates marked the second time Othram helped solve a case in Jefferson County.

Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said the technology complements existing investigative methods.

“It’s important that we, as investigators, still use those old techniques. We still go through the files and try to correlate those things and not just depend on the new technology,” Yates said.

In the Bates case, Yates said a case note had pointed toward the family, but the connection had not been confirmed until now. Bates’ siblings and son provided DNA swabs that produced the match.

“Some sort of case note or something that actually led to that family, but we didn’t know it,” Yates said.

Yates said he plans to apply the technology to the 26 remaining unidentified cases in his office.

“My other 26 files, there’s potentially already clues in there, I just need something else to make that connection,” Yates said.

Yates said families with missing loved ones should maintain records that could aid future identification efforts, including dental records, DNA swabs from family members, and photographs of distinguishing features such as tattoos.

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