At AncestorTracer, our mission is to deliver clarity, connection, and closure through ethical, high-standard forensic genealogy and genetic analysis. We are committed to applying rigorous genealogical principles and cutting-edge DNA research to reveal identities, confirm kinship, and solve complex ancestral and legal puzzles. As a nonprofit organization, we uphold privacy, accuracy, and professional integrity in every investigation — helping individuals, families, legal professionals, and communities discover truths, resolve historical and contemporary mysteries, and strengthen their sense of identity and belonging.
Forensic genealogy – applying the highest genealogical standards to research, analysis, and reporting in cases with legal implications, usually involving living individuals. We are a mobile service providing DNA testing and will help analyzing results as a Genealogist.
We now provide mobile DNA testing services within
Test for Paternity, Grandparent/grandchild, fraternal to identical twins, family relationships
Individual Identification
Connecting suspects to crime scenes or identify the victim
Exonerating the innocent
Solving Cold Cases
Test for family connections, closing in brick walls.
Non-profit and volunteers are key factors in genealogy research.
Venture philanthropy is a relatively new concept of cooperation in which nonprofits not only fund research but also take a businesslike approach to product development, commercialization, and collaboration with industry partners.
Investigators must be prepared for potential pain points such as managing conflicts of interest, managing intellectual property, and ensuring prior art is accounted for during the application process.
In a general investigation, due diligence acts as a thorough and careful examination of all relevant information about a subject, including their financial status, legal history, and reputation, to identify potential risks and ensure informed decision-making before entering into a business relationship or taking any significant action, essentially acting as a protective measure to mitigate potential legal or financial liabilities.
DNA samples are taken by swabbing the cheek. Reading DNA results involves understanding match percentages for family ties (higher the closer), genetic markers, showing shared alleles from parents and specifically paternity (probability >99% usually means inclusion) or tracing ancestry (ethnic and other family members and their journey). Key is differentiating between genetic markers (the data) and the report's conclusion (the interpretation), looking for consistent patterns of shared markers to confirm relationships or origins.
The generated DNA profile is compared to publicly available genetic databases from genealogy companies, looking for potential matches to distant relatives.
Once potential relatives are identified, traditional genealogical research methods are used to build a family tree and narrow down the suspect pool.
- Using genealogical databases raises ethical concerns about privacy, as it can potentially expose information about individuals who did not consent to their genetic data being used in criminal investigations.
- Proper legal procedures and regulations are needed to ensure the appropriate use of forensic genealogy while protecting individuals' privacy.