DNA Test Solves Columbian Hostage Mystery

Hostage-taking in Columbia is regrettably an everyday occurrence. A report by The Guardian tells of a peculiar case where the kidnappers failed to actually take a hostage. A DNA test proved that the child believed to have been kidnapped and held hostage was in fact alive and well in an orphanage in Columbia’s capital, Bogota.

DNA Test – A Scientific Procedure

The Guardian reports that the results of the test conducted in January 2008 proved that the child thought to be held hostage had not been kidnapped at all but was in fact alive and well. The Colombian rebels who claimed to have kidnapped the boy offered to release him as a special dispensation to Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. However the test was crucial to the case and the fact that the results proved the boy was not being held hostage caused a certain amount of confusion. A DNA test is the only scientific procedure that can provide results with almost fail-safe accuracy which is why it is used to arrest criminals from DNA samples in and regularly for a paternity DNA test.

Supplying the Solution

In this strange case, the DNA test conclusively proved that the boy was not being held hostage by the rebels. The Chief Federal Prosecutor in the case announced “The conclusion of the scientific experts is that there’s a greater probability the boy belongs to the Rojas family than to any other family”. The reason for this conclusion was that the test results showed a conclusive match between the child in question’s Mitochondrial DNA and that belonging to his mother and brother.

More Cases about Child Kidnapping and DNA Testing

Illegal Adoption stopped with DNA Tests: Recent news reports told the story of an adoption racket in Guatemala. 46 children had to be rescued by the authorities. It was thought they were either coerced from their parents or even stolen as part of an illegal adoption scheme. DNA tests were used to confirm the parentage.