BCA Needs Your Help Identifying Recovered Human Remains

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is asking for help from families of missing people in identifying dozens of sets of human remains found in Minnesota.  

The remains being tested were found in the 1970s to 1990s—many of them at a time when DNA testing was not available. The remains were often kept in at a medical examiner’s office, but the latest testing capabilities allow BCA scientists to get DNA from old remains and remains in poor condition.  

DNA from the remains is being entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System so it can be compared with family member samples.  

Consequently, the BCA is reaching out to family members across Minnesota in order to obtain samples. The samples will only be used to compare to the DNA from unidentified remains and will not be checked against any state or federal law enforcement databases.  

“The process takes seconds and is a simple swab of the inside of their cheek. But the information we’ll be able to learn from it could enable us to bring their loved ones back home,” a news release quoted BCA Forensic Science Laboratory Director Catherine Knutson.    

St. Louis Park has one missing person on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).  

Lauren Gail Andersen disappeared Nov. 15, 1981, when she was 20 years old. NamUs does not list any details about the circumstances of her disappearance. Andersen would be 51 years old now. She’s described as a white woman who’s 5-feet-4-inches tall and 115 pounds.  

Click here to search the NamUs database.  

If you have a family member who went missing, begin by contacting Minnesota Missing and Unidentified Persons Clearinghouse Manager Kris Rush at kris.rush@state.mn.us or 651-793-1118. Be sure to have the missing person’s name and date of birth. You will then be guided through the necessary steps, including:

• Confirm that a missing person report is on file with the local law enforcement agency, and that the information was entered into the FBI’s NCIC missing person file.
• Provide a DNA sample (cheek swab) and sign a consent form.
• If available, provide dental records, photos and any items which may contain the missing person’s DNA (toothbrush).