The DNA comparison analysis has provided a “one in a billion” match.
The family of a man who went missing 33 years ago have been told that a body that has remained unidentified in Wales since 1985 that a DNA analysis has provided a match.
According to RTE News, the DNA comparison provided a one in a billion match with Brendan Dowley, a man who went missing over three decades ago.
At the time, 63-year-old Dowley was a father of four, and was last seen on 17 October 1985 boarding a bus in Kilkenny, heading for a ferry to bring him to Britain.
Three weeks later, on 9 November 1985, an unidentified body washed up on the Welsh coast, but due to the lack of forensic sciences at the time, the body was buried unidentified.
DNA samples were provided by Dowley’s family as part of Operation Runabay, which is focussing on family members of missing people, while the similar Operation Orchid in Wales will be sharing their databases on over a dozen of currently reopened unidentified body cases in the country.
Detective Constable Don Kenyon said “We combine the latest advances in DNA technology and traditional investigative methods to help conclude enquiries started years ago.
“The focus of the operation is simply to identify, reunite and allow the dignity of a funeral service for family and friends to pay their respects.”
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