National Institute of Justice Awards Bode Technology Missing Persons Grant

LORTON, Va., July 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bode Technology Group, Inc. (Bode), a leading provider of forensic DNA services, announced today their award of a grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) titled, "Using DNA Technology to Identify the Missing." The NIJ grant will fund the nuclear (STR) and mitochondrial DNA testing of unidentified human remains and/or family reference samples from state and local governments in an effort to identify missing persons. Once DNA profiles are obtained, they are uploaded to the FBI's National DNA Index System (NDIS), and relevant case information is entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). Bode was previously awarded two other NIJ missing persons grants, and under this funding source has successfully completed over 700 cases that have led to the identification and closure of many missing persons cases.

Bruce Anderson, a forensic anthropologist with Pima County's Office of the Medical Examiner in Tucson, Arizona, said, "The PCOME has benefited greatly from the work that Bode Technology has performed on the nearly 1,100 tissue samples representing more than 800 deceased, unidentified persons, the vast majority who are believed to be foreign nationals and likely could not be identified without the postmortem DNA profiles that have already been generated.  For some of the non-migrant cases, Bode has developed DNA profiles on several dozen other unidentified person cases that date back to the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s when the current DNA technologies were unavailable.  The PCOME has many more cases waiting to be submitted to Bode and has great hope that the appropriate personal or family reference samples will soon be compared to these and the nearly 900 other postmortem DNA profiles that Bode has already developed on our unidentified person cases."

NDIS contains DNA profiles that have been contributed by federal, state, and local participating forensic laboratories.  The categories of data that may be maintained in NDIS as specified in the DNA Identification Act of 1994 include convicted offenders, arrestees, forensic casework, missing persons, relatives of missing persons and unidentified human remains.  NamUs is a national centralized repository and resource center for missing persons and unidentified decedent records that can be searched by medical examiners, coroners, law enforcement officials, and the general public. Currently, there are 8,733 open cases in the NamUs missing persons database and 9,971 open cases in its unidentified persons database.  CEO and President of Bode, Mike Cariola, commented, "Bode is grateful that the National Institute of Justice has continued to support this important program, which has assisted in bringing closure to hundreds of missing persons cases, and has continued to provide an invaluable resource to a national issue that cannot be addressed with current state and municipal resources."

About The Bode Technology Group, Inc.

Bode provides a comprehensive set of state-of-the-art forensic DNA collection products, analysis services, and research services to law enforcement, justice system, and other government agencies around the world. Operating one of the most internationally respected private DNA laboratories, Bode's forensic DNA experts have assisted in identifying criminals in every state in the United States, and played a key role in the exoneration of numerous individuals. Bode provides immigration and paternity testing worldwide. Bode has also been instrumental in the identification of victims of natural disasters, war, crime, and terrorism, including the attack on the World Trade Center.

Bode is one of the three wholly owned subsidiaries of SolutionPoint International, Inc., a leading provider of business intelligence, security, compliance and monitoring, identity assurance, forensics, and situational awareness solutions for the commercial and government sectors on a worldwide basis. Alongside Bode are Guidepost Solutions, global leader in monitoring, compliance, international investigations, and risk management solutions; and NSM Surveillance, designer and manufacturer of sophisticated surveillance systems for law enforcement, the Department of Defense and other government agencies.

SOURCE The Bode Technology Group, Inc.