Othram logo

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit Selects Othram as a Partner for Operation Spirit Return

The program seeks to identify unknown human remains that have been located within or close to Indian country and that are believed to belong to American Indian or Alaska Native persons.

The Woodlands, TX — February 20, 2025

Othram is proud to partner with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs for Operation Spirit Return, an initiative to help solve cases of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States.

“Answers are now possible for everyone, regardless of circumstances, historical origins, geography, or time period,” said David Mittelman, Othram CEO. “We are honored to assist the Bureau of Indian Affairs in leveraging advanced forensic technology to resolve long-standing cases and deliver justice.”

Othram, an accredited forensic laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas, specializes in using cutting-edge forensic genomic techniques to find answers for unsolved murders, disappearances and recovered human remains.

The new initiative was announced by Bryan Mercier, Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“The crisis of American Indians and Alaska Natives gone missing or who have been murdered, but whose cases remained unsolved, has been decades in the making, and we are committed to ending it,” Mercier said. “Thanks to the BIA Office of Justice Services’ Missing and Murdered Unit and its partners, our ‘Operation Spirit Return’ initiative will help return victims to their families, so that they can be comforted knowing their loved ones have come home.”

The project, launched by the BIA Office of Justice Services and handled by the BIA-OJS’s Missing and Murdered Unit will identify unknown human remains that have been located within or close to Indian country and that are believed to belong to either American Indian or Alaska Native persons. The Unit is actively investigating 15 unidentified persons cases from its regions, including Alaska.

BIA-OJS Deputy Bureau Director Richard “Glen” Melville noted that the focus of Operation Spirit Return is to identify the victims and send them home.

“With our partners in federal law enforcement and the genetic research community, we are striving to make a meaningful impact for the tribal families and communities who have been left for years with unanswered questions about those who went missing,” he said.

He noted that the Missing and Murdered Unit is collaborating with Othram and NamUs (the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System) a national program that assists the criminal justice community with the investigation and resolution of missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases across the United States and its territories.

The announcement comes days after Othram announced the solve of an unidentified Native American woman’s remains in South Dakota.

For more about today’s announcement, see: https://www.bia.gov/news/bia-launches-operation-spirit-return-help-solve-indian-country-missing-and-unidentified-person.

About Othram Inc.

Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence. Othram’s scientists are experts at recovery, enrichment, and analysis of human DNA from trace quantities of degraded or contaminated materials. Founded in 2018, and located in The Woodlands, Texas, our team works with academic researchers, forensic scientists, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies to achieve results when other approaches fail. Follow Othram on Twitter @OthramTech or visit Othram.com to learn how we can help you with your case. Visit dnasolves.com to learn how anyone can make a difference in helping solve the next cold case.

Press Releases
Styled image of a face

The best
case scenario.

Forensic evidence will degrade over time. Don't lose your evidence or allow it to be destroyed by inadequate testing or inexperienced consultants. We work with forensic professionals, medical examiners and law enforcement globally to achieve results the first time, even when other approaches have failed. Learn how Othram and our accredited laboratory can help you solve your case and support you from crime scene to courtroom.

Solve your case