Human remains found on the Far South Coast earlier this year have been identified as a Victorian man, who was missing for more than five years.
Listen to today’s episode of iHeart Far South Coast below.
Through analysis and comparison to familial DNA obtained during investigation, NSW police confirmed the remains discovered in Beowa National Park on the 27th of February 2024 were that of a 51-year-old man, who was reported missing in the Eden area, back in December 2018.
Police said the Missing Persons Registry currently had 352 unidentified remains that have been located across NSW dating back to 1964. There’s over 700 unidentified remain across the country.
On this week’s episode of iHeart Far South Coast, we sit down with Forensic Human Identification Specialist (and former Bega High School Student) Dr Jodie Ward to learn about how forensic teams use data and science to reunite unidentified human remains with their families.
Jodie was awarded a King’s Birthday Public Service Medal this year, in recognition of her leadership of the Australian Federal Police’s (AFP) National DNA Program for Unidentified and Missing Persons.
The former Bega High School student, is an internationally recognised forensic human identification expert who has a PHD in Forensic Genetics, got to travel the world with the prestigious Churchill Scholarship, and joined the AFP in 2020 to lead the National DNA Program for Unidentified and Missing Persons.
During her four years with the AFP, Doctor Ward was instrumental in spearheading the establishment and implementation of the National DNA Program which helped resolve 19 missing person cold cases as well as other more recent cases.
The National DNA Program enhanced collaboration between the AFP, state and territory police, along with coronial and forensic agencies to resolve cold cases of unidentified and missing persons.
Doctor Ward has had a wide-reaching impact on the Australian community with her pioneering forensic identification capabilities positioning the AFP at the forefront of best practice in human identification practices in Australia and globally.
Images: Dr Jodie Ward
