A Cassian Creed specialty

Investigative Genetic Genealogy

DNA can point toward relatives. Genealogy can reconstruct the family. Investigators must still prove the case.

This is the clear, victim-first guide to the method changing cold-case investigations and restoring names to unidentified people—without turning an investigative lead into a claim of guilt.

Start with how it works → See the names it gave back →

01DNA profileA detailed SNP profile is developed from evidence or unidentified remains.

02Relative matchesPermitted databases may reveal people who share portions of DNA.

03Family treesGenealogists combine genetic relationships with public records.

04Independent confirmationThe lead must be tested through lawful, conventional investigative work.

The rule that keeps the reporting honest

Genealogy can generate a powerful lead. It does not, by itself, establish identity or guilt.

Learn the method

Choose your starting point

Begin with the science, follow the investigation, or go directly to the legal and privacy questions.

Start here

How DNA Remembers

Understand inheritance, cousin matching, centimorgans, and why a relative can help identify someone who never tested.

Learn the DNA foundation → The workflow

The Five Steps

From a difficult sample to a family-tree lead—and the confirmation work that must follow.

Follow the process → The distinction

CODIS vs. Genealogy

Two different DNA systems, two different kinds of profiles, and two very different outputs.

Compare the systems → The legal limit

Evidence—or Just a Lead?

Why a family-tree hypothesis cannot substitute for direct testing and courtroom proof.

Understand the limit →

The work that matters most

A name returned is not a footnote.

Genealogy is often promoted as a way to catch offenders. Its most humane achievement may be simpler: reconnecting an unidentified person with the name, family, and history that were always theirs.

Read the restored-name stories →

Case fileJacob Hope: a child’s name restored Active caseBaby Boy Doe—Mansfield, 1985 Lab explainerHow Othram fits into an investigation

See it in the record

Cases and investigations

Case files separate what genealogy contributed from what investigators later confirmed.

Rachel Morin

A family-tree lead across jurisdictions

How investigators connected forensic evidence, genealogy, and conventional police work.

Read the case → Golden State Killer

The case that changed public awareness

The investigation that made genetic genealogy famous—and the direct-DNA confirmation that followed.

Read the case → Leslie Preer

A cold case reopened through kinship

A victim-first account of what advanced testing contributed and what it did not prove alone.

Read the case →

Know the boundaries

Privacy, permission, and law

The power of shared DNA reaches beyond the person who uploads it. These guides explain the tradeoffs without pretending they are simple.

Is forensic genetic genealogy legal?Rules, warrants, policies, and limits → The DNA privacy checklistQuestions to ask before uploading → Database permission comparisonNot every service permits the same searches → Whose consent travels?How one person’s choice can implicate relatives →

Our approach

Evidence first. People before case numbers.

Cassian Creed covers investigative genetic genealogy because it sits at the intersection of science, family history, missing-person work, and justice. We identify uncertainty, distinguish leads from proof, and center the people whose names the work is trying to restore.

Explore the Missing Persons Map → Browse all resources and guides →