# There are more than 15,000 unidentified-decedent cases in the US today. Does that surprise you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 13, 2026, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027 "2026-09-13T01:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/41 "2026-09-13T22:32:23Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Thing is, if the investigators found that a body found in 1992 was probably your long-lost great uncle who you never met, and who disappeared onto the streets with the express intention of forgetting his past and becoming anonymous, who benefits from this knowledge? BTW, aside from providing closure to the family of a previously unidentified body (as I mentioned), another reason to identify them is that doing so might help if something criminal occurred. (That is, if they were murdered.) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/42 "2026-09-13T22:47:23Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > that’s hard to pull off except in cases of homelessness, foul play, suicide, misadventure, etc. I assume that list covers the status of 99.9% of all John/Jane Doe’s. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/43 "2026-09-13T22:52:27Z")
I recollect that when my prints were taken in the 1990s for an FBI check so I could teach, I was assured that they would not be retained after they were checked against a criminal database. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/44 "2026-09-14T00:21:37Z")
There are hundreds of deaths annually of people trying to cross the Mexican border and dying in the desert, in the Rio Grande, etc. In 2023, there were 560 found. I bet many of them didn’t carry valid IDs. StG ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/45 "2026-09-14T05:40:11Z")
My error on US passport fingerprinting. Not required. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/46 "2026-09-14T13:10:09Z")
In the UK, after the police use DNA checks, fingerprints, etc., to try and work out who it is, the details are just added to the Missing Person’s Register. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/47 "2026-09-14T20:44:32Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > While 15,000 doesn’t seem inordinately high if it’s an all-time figure, it’s still a very exceptional thing to happen. I went on the NAMUS [site](https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/) and looked at the front page and the history page in “About” (almost seems like cheating in this thread, doesn’t it). Here are some excerpts: > The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) is a national centralized repository and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases across the United States. > At any given time, up to 90,000 persons may be reported missing in the United States with over 500,000 reported annually.[[1]](https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/#note1) While many of these individuals are found alive and well, some become long-term missing persons. At the same time, federal, state and local medicolegal death investigators are constantly working to provide names to thousands of deceased persons nationwide. Over 11,000 sets of unidentified human remains were held in medical examiner and coroner offices throughout the U.S. according to the 2018 Census of Medical Examiners and Coroners.[[2]](https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/#note2) > Over 600,000 individuals go missing in the United States every year. Fortunately, many missing children and adults are quickly found, alive and well. However, tens of thousands of individuals remain missing for more than one year – what many agencies consider “cold cases”.[[1]](https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/about#note1) > > It is estimated that 4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered each year, with approximately 1,000 of those bodies remaining unidentified after one year.[[2]](https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/about#note2) From a table on the front page: **Missing Persons** Open Cases **26,653** Resolved Cases **67,815** **Unidentified Persons** Open Cases **15,534** Resolved Cases **9,496** **Unclaimed Persons** Open Cases **23,671** Resolved Cases **7,635** There is also a Dashboard page with sortable listing (and search, but I didn’t bother to see if registration is required). The oldest record in Unidentified is from 1915, but there are only three entries prior to 1930. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/48 "2026-09-14T21:04:36Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > And what incentive would they have? No shade to you, that response is spot on. That we expect government benefits to at least equal expenditures is part of what is wrong with our culture. (“That’s a bad construction project, we’ll never recoup what it costs to build!” so no cross-country elevated maglev transportation for us.) We could totaly identify the vast majority of dead folks, if they were contributing members of the capitalist machinery and there was a profit in it–but good riddance to the homeless who won’t play. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/49 "2026-09-15T09:44:03Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > We could totaly identify the vast majority of dead folks, if they were contributing members of the capitalist machinery and there was a profit in it–but good riddance to the homeless who won’t play. I’m not sure that’s true. There are never enough resources to go around, and identifying a homeless person whose body was found on a city bench would not justify an extensive search. Forensics will be much better used to trace criminal activity, and apart from recording all the relevant details of the deceased, I don’t really see what else they could do. After all, the origin of the corpse could be anywhere in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/50 "2026-09-15T14:00:05Z")
It’s definitely not about limited resources. For $99, a J. Doe’s DNA could be submitted to an ancestry database informing interested parties that an unknown deceased relative is awaiting identification. It’s only legal and policy red tape that’s in the way. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/51 "2026-09-15T16:50:36Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > It’s only legal and policy red tape that’s in the way. That, and nobody in government gives a damn about people who don’t play the money game. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/52 "2026-09-15T21:19:31Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > For $99, a J. Doe’s DNA could be submitted to an ancestry database informing interested parties that an unknown deceased relative is awaiting identification. Only if they have relatives who have had DNA tests from one of those databases. But homeless peoples’ relatives are often also lower-class (even if not as bad off as they are), and DNA ancestry testing is a toy for the middle class (and only a fraction of them). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/53 "2026-09-15T21:21:25Z")
And of course for some people, one’s loved ones aren’t those with whom one shares DNA. Adoptees, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/54 "2026-09-15T21:34:03Z")
In 2018, 60% of Americans’ ancestry could be traced through familial DNA. > **[Majority of Americans’ ancestry can be traced through existing DNA databases](https://www.news-medical.net/news/20181011/Majority-of-Americans-ancestry-can-be-traced-through-existing-DNA-databases.aspx)** > > According to a latest report over 60 percent of the Americans’ ancestry can be traced through existing DNA databases. This includes even persons who have never submitted their DNA for evaluation say researchers because enough individuals have already... Likely right that it skews middle-upper class, but even the most destitute have relatives in that demographic when you include first, second, and third cousins. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/55 "2026-09-15T21:48:46Z")
Meaning that 40% can’t be. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/56 "2026-09-15T21:57:15Z")
Yeah. You’re right. $99 is way too much to risk on the mere chance of identifying 6 in 10 J. Doe’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/57 "2026-09-15T21:59:05Z")
To be fair, it’s way more than $99, as a hit merely means you have a place to start from. There’s a lot of hours of labour to follow before you reach a definitive answer. I think it’s worth doing, but it’s going to be thousands per head, not $99. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/58 "2026-09-15T22:03:33Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > To be fair, it’s way more than $99, as a hit merely means you have a place to start from. Not always. If people on the website are allowed to opt-in on a directory of related unidentified decedents, the ME might just get a phone call from relatives who can put a name to them. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/59 "2026-09-15T22:08:37Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > That, and nobody in government gives a damn about people who don’t play the money game. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Yeah. You’re right. $99 is way too much to risk on the mere chance of identifying 6 in 10 J. Doe’s. Yeah, they completely ignore the relatively low cost of DNA profiling versus the resulting benefit. I eagerly await cites that show the whole DNA section of the NAMUS website to be false. > The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), through the NamUs program, provides funding and support to perform nuclear DNA testing, including Y-STR, and mitochondrial DNA analyses for missing and unidentified person cases from across the country. and… > Family members of missing persons are asked to provide DNA samples that are profiled and uploaded to the National DNA Index System, in an effort to locate missing persons through DNA database searches. These samples, known as Family Reference Samples, are voluntary DNA submissions that are used only in the search for a missing loved one. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027/60 "2026-09-17T06:06:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Meaning that 40% can’t be But that was back in 2018. There have been a lot more people participating in DNA registries in the last 8 years. And a lot more familial connections have been made out of what’s there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-more-than-15-000-unidentified-decedent-cases-in-the-us-today-does-that-surprise-you/1033027.md?page=4)