California aims to bring closure to more missing persons cases by expanding its DNA identification program under recently signed legislation.
Assembly Bill 2018, signed into law last month by Gov. Gavin Newsom, expands the California Missing Persons DNA Program to help identify human remains and solve long-unsolved cases.
“Any missing person case — adult, child, MMIP, or otherwise — is one too many. No family should know the prolonged uncertainty of waiting for answers, and together we’re making it clear that California takes action,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), the bill’s author, called the program's expansion “urgent given the disproportionate number of Missing and Murdered
Indigenous Persons plaguing our state.”
“Ensuring our justice system personnel have the tools they need to perform effectively is critical to bringing resolution to cases involving the missing,” Ramos said in a statement.
Here’s what to know about the program and its expansion.
What is California Department of Justice’s Missing Persons DNA Program?
Created in 2001, the California Department of Justice Missing Persons DNA Program provides DNA testing for any missing or unidentified persons across the state, according to Bonta’s office. The program compares “DNA from unidentified persons with DNA from personal articles belonging to missing persons and DNA from relatives of missing persons” in hopes of identifying missing people and bringing closure to their families.
As of 2024, the program had identified more than 2,000 missing persons, according to Bonta’s office.
Legislation implements 'three critical elements’ to DNA program
AB 2018 expands the state’s missing persons DNA database by implementing “three crucial elements,” according to Ramos.
Before the adoption of AB 2018, the law only covered unidentified deceased persons and high-risk missing persons. Under the new law, the program must cover all cases involving an unidentified person, whether living or deceased. The change removes the focus on whether a missing person meets the legal definition of "high risk."
The program also now must allow DNA to be retained in cases involving partially recovered remains. Previously, law required DNA samples from living relatives to be destroyed after a person was positively identified. AB 2018 makes a new exception allowing authorities to keep DNA if human remains are incomplete, or there is a reasonable expectation that more remains needing identification will be found later.
“By updating the state’s approach to missing persons DNA analysis and identification, the bill will increase the California Department of Justice’s ability to resolve missing persons cases and provide answers to families,” Ramos’ office said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California broadens DNA program to solve missing person cases
