HELTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — The Kentucky State Police (KSP) are using cutting-edge DNA identification technology to help solve open cases.
The system, known as ANDE Rapid DNA Identification System, generates DNA identification from forensic samples in less than two hours.
KSP recently identified a Kentucky woman who went missing in 2020 using the technology.
Makayla Collett went missing from Leslie County in October 2020. Unidentified remains, including a skull, were found in 2021 and taken to the KSP Forensic Lab.
ANDE Rapid DNA Identification system used the DNA from the skull, along with DNA samples provided by Collett’s family, in order to make a positive identification.
In 2019, Kentucky became the first state to use rapid DNA testing for sexual assault victims and now uses it to identify human remains and bring closure to open cases such as Makayla’s.