This young Edmonton entrepreneur is helping to reunite families with DNA genealogy
CBC
A 25-year-old Edmonton entrepreneur is using genetic genealogy technology to track the DNA of unidentified victims in cold cases.
Bradley Pierson started his company Trouvay in 2022 to help people identify their families and is now expanding his work to help law enforcement services solve crimes.
"I realized there was a huge crisis of unidentified human remains and unsolved violent crime cases, and this technology had emerged that allowed us to solve them finally," Pierson told CBC in an interview.
Toronto forensic genealogist James Atkinson said investigative genetic genealogy is a technology that uses DNA testing in combination with research methods and historical records to determine biological relationships.
He says genetic genealogy has become a growing tool for many people looking to learn more about their heritage, solve family mysteries, or connect with distant relatives.
Pierson's journey into genetic genealogy began with a personal interest in family history.
At the age of 13, he started tracing family trees. Ten years later he realized he could help people who were adopted to find their birth parents. He made 100 identifications and realized he could use the same technology to solve cold cases.
In 2023, Pierson collaborated as a volunteer under Det. James Atkinson on an Ontario case that was being handled by the Toronto Police Service.
Known as the Deep River John Doe, the case involved a man from Drumheller, Alta., who was found dead in 2001 on a bench in the Laurentian Hills, near Deep River, Ont.
Over the summer, Pierson worked alongside Atkinson and other volunteers to identify the man using investigative genetic genealogy. Twenty years after the man died, the team was able to bring closure to his family. The man's name was withheld from the public per his family's request.
Volunteers like Pierson were vital to the solving of this case, Atkinson said in an interview.
Investigative genetic genealogy uses DNA testing in combination with research methods and historical records to determine biological relationships.
Atkinson said genetic genealogy has become a growing tool for many people looking to learn more about their heritage, solve family mysteries, or connect with distant relatives.
Pierson relies on public DNA databases to help him find answers to questions that have remained unsolved in some cases for many years.
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