Families waiting for answers about their loved ones after the deadly wildfire in Maui may get them from a company here in Colorado. A team of field scientists with Ande flew into Hawaii the day after with equipment to test DNA samples and identify human remains.
"When a whole community burns to the ground most of the things you would compare to — the doctors' offices are gone, the dental offices are gone. Those records are no longer available," said Stephen Meer, chief information officer at Ande.
Meer said they primarily extract DNA from bone fragments, and then they compare that data from living family members. Their DNA instrument can find someone's DNA identification in 94 minutes. That DNA is linked to someone's parent and close family members.
"That comparison takes just a couple of minutes so happens in a mechanical sense and then there's a human review," he said.
