Brazil expands DNA collection and institutional efforts to locate missing persons

Brazil is intensifying efforts to locate missing persons through national DNA collection and institutional collaboration. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security, in partnership with federal and state forensic institutes, is conducting the 4th National DNA Collection Mobilization. This initiative allows families to provide genetic material at 342 locations across the country to help identify individuals who have been missing for days, months, or years.

In the state of Goiás, collection points are distributed across various regions, including Goiânia, Anápolis, and Rio Verde, through the Regional Technical-Scientific Police Coordinations. The collected material is used to strengthen the national genetic profile database, enabling the identification of unknown persons by establishing kinship even in the absence of documentation.

In Mato Grosso, the 2nd State Symposium on Missing Persons was held in Cuiabá to discuss strategies for locating and identifying missing individuals. Organized by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Mato Grosso in partnership with the Civil Police and technical identification services, the symposium focused on integrating security forces, the justice system, and protection networks to improve identification processes and support affected families.