DNA Doe Project

DNA Doe Project (AKA DNA Doe Project, Inc.) is a non-profit organization of volunteers who use genetic genealogy to identify unidentified victims of: auto accidents, homicide, unusual circumstances, and people who committed suicide under an alias. History: DNA Doe Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Sebastopol, California. It was founded in 2017 by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Margaret Press. The two, along with many volunteers, use genealogy in conjunction with DNA from unidentified victims to build family trees through GEDmatch, a free public DNA database. After reading a Sue Grafton novel about a Jane Doe, Margaret planned to use family trees to identify unidentified homicide victims. By March 2018 DNA Doe Project solved its first case. Founders- Colleen Fitzpatrick: Colleen is the founder of IdentiFinders, an organization which uses Y-chromosomal testing to identify male killers in unsolved homicides. IdentiFinders is also responsible for solving the identity of the unknown child on the Titanic. Previously she worked as a nuclear physics PhD with NASA and the Department of Defense. Margaret Press: Margaret is a novelist with previous careers in: computer programming, speech, and language consulting. She retired from computer programming in 2015 and relocated from Salem, Massachusetts to Sebastopol, California to live near family. As a hobby, Press began pursuing genealogy in 2007; helping friends and acquaintances find their loved ones as well as helping adoptees find their biological parents.