FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Identification of 6th Ohio Doe by DNA Doe Project
Hamilton, OH – September 14, 2020 – The Butler County Coroner’s Office (BCCO) and the DNA Doe Project (DDP) announce the identity of a male discovered in the Great Miami River north of Hamilton, Ohio in May 1997 as Larry Joe Porter. Although the nature of the injuries were consistent with a person hit by a motor vehicle, the cause and manner of death are still undetermined.
After attempts to identify the victim did not produce a name, the BCCO reached out to the DNA Doe Project in December 2018 for help with the case. University of North Texas Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI) sent remaining DNA extract to the sequencing lab HudsonAlpha Discovery. Data was uploaded to GEDmatch and later to Family Tree DNA, where the DDP team of volunteer genealogists discovered a close family member.
Within hours the team worked out the connections between the DNA matches. Team member Megan Street recalls the moment the family tree was finally built out and led to Larry Porter, corroborated by other online clues that seemed to cease in 1996: “Every hair on the back of my neck stood up!”
DDP wishes to acknowledge the contributions of those groups and individuals who helped solve this case: Lisa Mannix, M.D., the Butler County Coroner and her staff who entrusted the case to DDP; UNTCHI for providing DNA extract; Hudson Alpha Discovery for processing the DNA; Dr. Gregory Magoon, contracting through Full Genomes Corp., for bioinformatics; GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA for providing their databases; and the dedicated DDP volunteer genetic genealogists who brought this case to a resolution.
Margaret Press, CEO and co-founder of DDP, notes that this is the sixth Ohio Doe case that DDP has helped identify, “But even after all these years, it’s still a loss for this family. Our hearts go out to them.”
About the DNA Doe Project
The DNA Doe Project, Inc. is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to identify John and Jane Does and return them to their families. Although the genealogy research is pro bono, DDP relies on donations to fund the lab costs when agencies cannot afford them. To date DDP volunteers have made over two dozen confirmed identifications. Discover more at https://dnadoeproject.org/
