As the years stretched into decades with no arrests after his sisterB次元官网网址檚 body was found in Washington state, it was becoming hard for John Van Cuylenborg of Victoria, B.C., to maintain hope for any justice or answers.

Then he received a phone call about investigators getting a break in the cold case.

It involved a controversial new investigative technique that American police have been using to comb through the genetic family trees of potential suspects in such unsolved crimes.

The technique is raising questions about privacy of a personB次元官网网址檚 DNA on both sides of the border.

B次元官网网址淚t was surreal, really, after 31 years to get that phone call,B次元官网网址� Van Cuylenborg said. B次元官网网址淚t was very gratifying for all of us who have held out hope for that long that something would come of it, but without the technology, I donB次元官网网址檛 think it would have happened.B次元官网网址�

Police in Snohomish County, Wash., announced the arrest of William Earl Talbott in May and have charged him with first-degree murder in the death of Tanya Van Cuylenborg, who was 18 in November 1987. The body of her boyfriend Jay Cook, 20, was found about an hourB次元官网网址檚 drive away.

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Detectives said they uploaded a DNA sample from the crime scene to an open-source genealogy database called GEDmatch. After identifying genetic relatives, investigators built a family tree that led to Talbott as a suspect. Police then collected a fresh DNA sample from a discarded cup. It was a match.

The charge against Talbott has not been proven in court.

While the arrest has brought some sense of closure to John Van Cuylenborg, the new investigative strategy has prompted debate in Canada about privacy rights.

Josh Paterson, executive director for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, warned that positive results donB次元官网网址檛 necessarily justify the process.

B次元官网网址淭he fact of one story or a handful of stories seemingly going in a positive way doesnB次元官网网址檛 take away our concern for the potential of misuse for these kinds of tools,B次元官网网址� he said.

Even in cases where a website warns users that their genetic information may be shared with police, Paterson said, it means someoneB次元官网网址檚 third cousin may be consenting on their behalf.

In Canada, there are strict rules for good reason around the use of genetic information in the National DNA Data Bank, which limits samples to individuals convicted of certain crimes and regulates their use by police, he said.

In contrast, he said American detectives appear to be fishing for suspects through genealogy sites that store genetic information.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e basically throwing a net in the sea and asking these companies what they might come back with,B次元官网网址� he said.

On the other hand, Eike-Henner Kluge, a professor of philosophy at the University of Victoria with an interest in biomedical and information ethics, said there are cases where privacy rights can be breached if thereB次元官网网址檚 a threat of harm to others, and unsolved murders may be one of them.

B次元官网网址淎ny right is subject to the equal and competing rights of others,B次元官网网址� Kluge said in an email. B次元官网网址淭his is also recognized in the classic legal statement, B次元官网网址榊our right to swing your arms ends just where the other manB次元官网网址檚 nose begins.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

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Genetic genealogist CeCe Moore, who assisted in the Van Cuylenborg investigation, said she used genetic genealogy to help thousands of adoptees find their biological families before agreeing to help law enforcement.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 something I declined to do for a very long time. I was concerned about informed consent, about people in the genetic genealogy databases having their DNA used for a purpose they had not consented to and were not aware was a possibility,B次元官网网址� Moore said, adding it took her only eight hours to identify a suspect.

After genetic genealogy was used to make an arrest in the decades-old Golden State Killer case in April and GEDmatch changed its terms of service to alert people to possible police involvement, Moore said she feels more comfortable with the idea that people are informed.

She also said while she can help police identify suspects, their DNA must still be tested against samples from the crime scene in the traditional way.

B次元官网网址淲hat IB次元官网网址檓 doing is only a hint or clue pointing them in the right direction. ItB次元官网网址檚 not evidence they could use for an arrest,B次元官网网址� Moore said.

ItB次元官网网址檚 unclear if Canadian law enforcement are using the same techniques.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada said direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies are subject to federal and provincial private-sector privacy laws, if they are based in the country or have a real and substantial link to Canada and are engaged in commercial activities.

Generally speaking, Canadian police would have lawful authority to pursue an action such as trying to identify suspects with DNA information held by private companies under those laws, the office said.

It also noted, however, that the DNA Identification Act, which introduced the National DNA Data Bank in 1998, does not allow for familial searching.

B次元官网网址淥ur view is that DNA constitutes highly sensitive personal information. While DNA profiles can help solve cold cases B次元官网网址� and bring emotional closure to victims and families, their collection and retention must respect the highest possible standards of fair balance between security and privacy,B次元官网网址� it said in an emailed statement.

B次元官网网址淎s direct-to-consumers genetic tests become increasingly available, particularly over the Internet, it is important to understand their privacy risks.B次元官网网址�

The Canadian Press

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