Active Cases & Success Stories
COMING SOON!
As Coast to Coast Genetic Genealogy began taking cases in May 2022, we have no active cases to publicly list on our website yet. Stay tuned for more details as they emerge!
In the NEWS
914 INC / Westchester Magazine Online – Coast to Coast Offers Cold-Case Closure From White Plains
Coast to Coast Genetic Genealogy Services is a local startup cracking cold cases with DNA analysis and a dedication to justice.
Forensic Magazine – Women Who Helped ID John Wayne Gacy Victim Launch Genetic Genealogy Service in New York
The founding partners of CCGG possess years of experience solving unidentified remains cases using forensic genetic genealogy, and continue to volunteer in that arena while this business venture affords the opportunity to solve violent crimes. Additionally, their diverse skill mix with career backgrounds in education, healthcare, laboratory sciences and business management hold a variety of applications in the burgeoning field of forensic genetic genealogy.
ISHI Newsletter – This Week in Forensic Science
A newly launched White Plains-based company is planning to partner with law enforcement agencies for solving cold cases through genetic genealogy services. Coast to Coast Genetic Genealogy Services (CCGG) will provide forensic genetic genealogy for the identification of suspects in homicide and sexual assault investigations, as well as unidentified remains cases including infant and child remains. The company plans to provide educational services for law enforcement agencies that want to learn more about forensic genetic genealogy practices, and it will also provide traditional genetic genealogy work for adoptees or foundlings requiring advanced expertise.
Press Release – Coast to Coast Genetic Genealogy Services Launches in Westchester
Woman-owned and operated business specializes in forensic genetic genealogy for the identification of perpetrators and victims of violent crimes
(Please note that the media links listed below include cases led by our founders through their work at DNA Doe Project. Cairenn Binder, Tracie Boyle, and Harmony Vollmer remain volunteers at DNA Doe Project, but specify that the DNA Doe Project is in no way affiliated with Coast to Coast Genetic Genealogy Services.)
NPR News – Gacy Victim 5 Identified by DNA Doe Project
(Team leaders of this historic case, for the DNA Doe Project, included Harmony Vollmer and Cairenn Binder.)
“The identification of Alexander came together when the sheriff’s department teamed up with the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit that uses genetic information to locate relatives of dead people who have not been identified. The organization compared the DNA profile from the unidentified victim’s remains to profiles on a genealogy website to find potential relatives. That led it to Alexander’s family, and Alexander’s mother and half-brother provided their DNA for comparison.”
Discover Magazine – DNA Identified Gacy Victim 5
(Team Leader Harmony Vollmer with DNA Doe Project)
“Of the remaining six victims, Victim Number Five held promise. The DNA extracted from his molar wasn’t too contaminated with bacteria, and the sequence was clear. “This one had relatively good DNA. It was a relatively high-quality whole-genome sequencing,” says Harmony Vollmer, one of the lead researchers with The DNA Doe Project. Vollmer’s team took over the file and uploaded the genetic information to GEDMatch.com, a database where the public can share the results of their ancestry DNA tests in order to access more analytical tools. The team quickly identified a user with associated DNA — likely the victim’s second cousin.”
Michigan Wood8 TV – Allegan County John Doe Identified by DNA Doe Project
(Featuring Co-Team Leader Tracie Boyle of the DNA Doe Project)
“After working with the DNA Doe Project on a previous case in mid-2019, MSP contacted the nonprofit to try to identify the remains. DNA Doe Project collected DNA samples and sent them to the University of North Texas for additional testing. This testing along with additional research done by members of the DNA Doe Project showed that the remains found in 2014 likely belonged to 59-year-old Ronald Wayne Jager. The DNA matched multiple relatives but no immediate family members, MSP said.”
San Francisco Chronicle – Victim of Happy Face Killer Identified by DNA Doe Project
(Team leaders included Harmony Vollmer and Cairenn Binder)
“In 2019, Sgt. Shannon Catalano of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office finally brought the case to the DNA Doe Project, a volunteer organization based in Sebastopol that uses genetics to help identify human remains. Genealogists with the DNA Doe Project worked for two more years before they were able to make a match through a database. Skiple’s identity was finally confirmed through DNA testing on April 13. She was approximately 45 at the time she was killed, according to a statement released by the Sheriff’s Office Monday.”
The Oregonian – Genetic Genealogy Identifies the Green River Killer’s Youngest Victim
(Team leaders included Harmony Vollmer and Cairenn Binder)
“Cairenn Binder, who led the DNA Doe Project team that identified Wendy Stephens, said that by entering her DNA information into a genealogy website, they were able to locate distant cousins on both her mother’s side and father’s side. By building out a family tree with census, birth and other records, they pinpointed where the families intersected — Stephens’ parents.
Missouri KY3 – Pulaski County Jane Doe Identified After 40 Years
(Team Leaders Harmony Vollmer and Cairenn Binder of DNA Doe Project)
“We take a match from over here and a match from over here. We build out their family trees to see who they’re most recent, common ancestor is. In this one we were lucky we got that close DNA match and as a result of it we were able to solve it pretty quickly,” said Binder. She matched Knippers’ DNA profile to a second cousin. That profile was then compared to her brothers. This gave closure to not only to authorities and community but Knippers’ loved ones as well.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – ‘He was gone’: 32 years after teen vanished, St. Louis police tap genetic forensics to solve case
(Featuring Co-Team Leader Tracie Boyle of the DNA Doe Project)
“The DNA Doe Project is a nonprofit volunteer organization working to put names to those unidentified bodies using forensic genealogy. Sabin began working with the organization last year. It helped her crowdfund the several thousand dollars needed to extract a DNA profile in hopes of identifying her John Doe. Investigative genetic genealogist Tracie Boyle led the team who identified the remains within a week of receiving John Doe DNA profile from Sabin’s case — a fast turnaround she attributed to unusually close familial matches.”
Oklahoma KOCO – “Lime Lady” Jane Doe 40 Year Cold Case Solved
(Team Leaders Harmony Vollmer and Cairenn Binder of DNA Doe Project)
“The woman, whom investigators called the “Lime Lady” because the suspect used lime and lime juice to destroy her body and evidence, was found in 1980 along the Canadian River in Jones on what would have been her 21st birthday. Authorities now know the woman’s name — Tamara Lee Tigard — thanks to a volunteer nonprofit organization, The DNA Doe Project.”
Oxygen Network – How Your DNA Can Solve Cold Cases
(Featuring Cairenn Binder of DNA Doe Project)
“Stephanie Gomulka interviews genetic genealogists Cairenn Binder and Kevin Lord of the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit that helps identify missing people. They discuss how their work helps law enforcement solve missing persons cases, and how your DNA could help solve their next case.”
CrimeCon 2022 Recap
(Featuring Cairenn Binder of DNA Doe Project)
“Following a captivating session about their work and the results they’ve garnered so far, CrimeCon attendees were encouraged to visit the DNA Doe Project booth in the exhibit hall and learn how to upload their 23andMe or Ancestry DNA results to GEDMatch.”