Maine legislature approves bill to identify remains from unsolved murders, missing persons cases

AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) – The legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee unanimously approved a bill Wednesday aimed at identifying human remains from unsolved murder and missing persons cases.

Representative David Boyer of Poland is the sponsor of the bill.

He says it aims to provide closure to affected families.

The bill requires the Chief Medical Examiner to use forensic genealogy testing on the D-N-A of unidentified human remains within 45 days of possession.

The bill was amended to include the proper way to handle the remains of Native Americans.

“There is a sliver of hope in this bill. The idea that we might be, Maine has a high per capita of missing people, so the idea of that there are some missing folks that are in our possession and we can bring closures to those families, it also may save resources when law enforcement goes to look for these missing people,” said Boyer.

The Medical Examiner’s Office will require one-hundred thousand dollars for this fiscal year, then an additional fifteen-thousand each year after that.

The estimate covers the 20 unidentified bodies in the state’s possession and three more each year.

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