The journey to finding Victoria’s identity took a new turn in August 2021, when NCMEC facilitated having DNA samples from Victoria submitted to Astrea Forensics pro bono to pursue forensic genetic genealogy. In June 2022, Astrea successfully developed usable DNA from hair samples, and NCMEC’s genealogist consultant Angela Trammel with the Kin Finder Group agreed to do the genealogy work pro bono. Initial genealogy efforts discovered that Jane Doe’s family originated in Honduras, which would become critical to solving the case.
While genealogy work was ongoing, NCMEC featured Victoria’s case on our Help ID Me Facebook page. Just a few days after the post went up, the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from someone who saw the post.
