Identification of Missing Persons in Cyprus

Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings (LabCorp®) has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Bode Cellmark Forensics (Bode Cellmark), is cooperating with the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus in its mission of exhumation, identification, and return of remains of missing persons in Cyprus. The CMP in Cyprus is a bi-communal body established in 1981 by agreement between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities under the auspices of the United Nations, to determine the fate of persons reported missing due to inter-communal conflict. To date, the CMP has identified more than 570 individuals. Bode Cellmark began issuing DNA kinship match reports to the CMP in November 2014.

Bode Cellmark (formerly The Bode Technology Group, Inc), is delivering forensic genetic laboratory services, which includes DNA analysis, to the CMP as part of the process to identify individuals who went missing following conflicts in Cyprus in 1963, 1964 and 1974. Bode Cellmark has significant experience in identifying missing persons, and has implemented advanced sampling techniques and DNA extraction methods that optimize extraction of DNA profiles from degraded and aged bone samples. In this project, DNA profiles from skeletal samples will be compared to profiles obtained from family members to identify the missing persons.

“Bode Cellmark has tested more than 30,000 unidentified human remains for DNA and helped identify individuals who were victims of crime, war, terrorism, airline crashes, civil conflicts and natural disasters. Bode Cellmark will utilize its vast experience in support of this project,” said Michael Cariola, General Manager for Bode Cellmark. “Our goal is to support the CMP in its continued efforts to bring closure to more than 2,000 missing persons cases, of which approximately 550 have been resolved. Through similar partnerships, Bode Cellmark is committed to supporting human identification efforts of missing persons worldwide.”