INTERPOL has reported that its global database for identifying missing persons using international DNA kinship matching, called I-Familia, has successfully identified the remains of Dutch national Angelique Hendrix, who disappeared in 1990.
In 1991, Belgian authorities discovered unidentified human remains in Maasmechelen, just across the border from Angelique’s home in Stein, Netherlands.
The case remained unresolved for over three decades until a recent change in Belgian law allowed authorities to share DNA profiles with INTERPOL’s I-Familia database, which collects genetic information from relatives of missing persons.
The database specifically compares DNA profiles with those of unidentified deceased persons and assists in international missing persons investigations.
Dutch authorities had previously submitted DNA data from Angelique’s family to I-Familia. When Belgian officials uploaded the DNA from the human remains, they found a match. Further research and collaboration between Belgian and Dutch authorities confirmed Angelique’s identity.
This case represents the first successful match through I-Familia for both Belgium and the Netherlands since the database launched in 2021.
I-Familia now contains over 21,000 DNA profiles from people in 78 countries and is dedicated solely to solving missing persons cases as distinct from INTERPOL’s criminal databases.
“The major breakthrough in Angelique’s identification was thanks to the efforts of Belgian and Dutch law enforcement and the crucial role of I-Familia in providing answers to families of missing persons,” INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said.