MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas — Recently the Texas Rangers were able to identify the remains of Sylvia Nicole Smith, a 16-year-old girl who had gone missing in 2000.

Her identification was made possible through the help of DNA testing, nearly a decade after her remains were found in 2013 near an oilfield in Midland. 

For the past four year now, Chief Genetic Geneologist with Parabon, CeCe Moore, has been working alongside law enforcement to help identify missing persons’ remains and solve cold cases using a method called Genetic Genealogy. 

“We’re using a type of DNA called autosomal DNA and we inherit 50% from each of our parents. About 12 1/2% from each great grandparent,” said Moore.

Solving crimes starts with a sample of DNA from the victim’s remains.

“For these cases we have to start from scratch and we have to re-analyze the biological material from the beginning. We have to go back to that original biological sample, get that DNA and re-analyze it using these more advanced techniques,” said Moore.

Once they have the victim’s DNA, they can slowly reverse-engineer a family tree. 

“When we’re working on say a Jane Doe case we’re first gonna try to identify her ancestors based on who she shares DNA with, and then as we move forward we’re gonna get closer and closer to the present and start looking at those…