Rapid DNA helped produce quick identifications after the Camp Fire; experts urge wider cooperative and workshop training

SACRAMENTO/WEBINAR — Rapid DNA systems deployed to family assistance centers and mobile morgues can produce actionable STR profiles in hours and materially speed identifications after mass-fatality events, two forensic practitioners said during an RTI International webinar on the technology’s use in disaster victim identification.

Dr. Amanda Souser, founder and president of SNA International, told attendees that Rapid DNA “really is a game changer for mass fatality response operations, providing a very robust tool in the toolbox that responders use for human identification.” She described exercises run with the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) that moved instruments into family assistance centers and morgues and integrated testing with family interviews to reduce turnaround time and duplicate sampling.

The workshop-style exercises — in Boston (2015, 2016), a large field event in Vermont, Ohio’s two-day “MegaDeath” exercise and an Operation Heartland hot-zone test — demonstrated that instruments are portable, can run on generator power and can generate usable profiles from tissue and bone in the field when procedures for sample tracking and chain of custody are followed. Souser said participants found immediate family-side testing helpful: in one exercise 100 percent of respondents said on-site profiles showed authorities were working diligently and 80 percent rated on-site testing very helpful.

Dr. Richard Seldin, founder of ANDi, described the ANDi system and its FlexPlex 27-locus assay. He said the device has separate consumables for buccal swabs and degraded remains and is ruggedized for field use. Seldin reported on ANDi’s deployment to the Camp Fire response in Butte County, California, where teams used three instruments to process remains and two for family reference samples. “We were able to get, over 85 percent of those cases with good, DNA IDs, good STR profiles within, just a matter of of a week or so,” he said, referring to roughly 85 sets of remains recovered in that response.

Both presenters emphasized operational details required for success: pre-planned coordination with local authorities to move equipment into response sites, clear vehicle- and access-planning, simple but robust sample-collection kits and labeling, training for non-DNA personnel to collect samples, and secure data-management tools to share and review profiles. Souser said that bringing testing to family assistance centers allows families to “see immediate action” and helps responders know quickly whether a given family has supplied enough references for identification.

Speakers also discussed legal and laboratory integration issues. Presenters noted that DNA produced at a disaster victim identification (DVI) operation may follow different rules if a sample is later entered into CODIS and that some automated kinship analyses can identify straightforward matches while experts should review complex pedigrees. Seldin said the system had received laboratory approvals for specific CODIS compatibility and has been piloted in several state and federal contexts.

Both presenters advocated building a Rapid DNA cooperative to fill national capacity gaps in DVI responses, a network that would allow jurisdictions to deploy instruments, supplies and trained personnel rapidly under common checklists and emergency-management agreements.

RTI and partners also promoted an upcoming American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) DVI Rapid DNA workshop in May in St. Louis, described during the webinar as a hands-on day combining lectures, tabletop exercises and seven workstations to practice family interviews, sample collection, instrument operation and kinship analysis.

The webinar concluded with a question-and-answer session that clarified identification verification at family assistance centers (ID and relationship checks are used and collection forms help verify relationships), compatibility of many swab types with the instruments (cotton is commonly supplied but other swabs can be used with stronger tracking protocols), and where analysts are needed for complex kinship cases. Presenters said that while automated matching handles most routine cases, experts remain essential for complicated pedigrees.

Organizers posted registration links and a survey for workshop signups and invited attendees to follow RTI’s social channels for details. RTI and the presenters said further detailed results from the Camp Fire deployment and related studies will be presented at major conferences later in the year.