There is still a chance of finding missing persons Flood disaster: ‘Time is really running out’ | Interior

“Time is really running out now,” says Hans Geldof, forensic investigator at the Zeeland-West Brabant police. He makes an urgent appeal to families in which people have still been missing since the flood disaster. “It is still possible. If there are still elderly people in that family who are willing to donate DNA, that gives hope again. We can grab that opportunity before it is too late.”

In the podcast ‘The Missing of ’53’ we discuss the suffering of the relatives of 105 victims who were never identified. Thanks to DNA research, this may now be possible, but time is running out. Listen to the first episode of the podcast below. The story then continues.

His plea is supported by Carla van Dongen, DNA kinship expert at the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI). “I would like to encourage everyone to participate. Even if not for yourself, then maybe for other people in the family, who still want to know where that missing person has gone. Then do it for them, so that everyone who lies in a cemetery also gets a name.”

Seventy years ago, according to official figures, the flood disaster claimed 1836 victims, mainly in Zeeland and South Holland. Of them, 105 have never been found. However, dozens of unnamed graves from that period are known. These are people who were not identified at the time.

A total of 31 of these graves were opened in Zeeland in 2013 and 2014, almost all of them on Schouwen-Duiveland. DNA traces have been secured. At the same time, relatives of the missing could donate DNA. In three cases this resulted in a ‘match’ and anonymous victims got their names back.

Not all surviving relatives were willing to donate DNA at the time, for various reasons. Geldof and Van Dongen hope that more people are now willing to do so. “I hope they put their hesitation behind them and come forward. So spread that news to your grandparents or to your mother and father, because there is certainly a chance that we will find someone. We still miss those 105 people.”

Another factor is that DNA techniques are getting better and better, which increases the chance of success. In addition, Geldof is investigating whether nameless graves can still be traced and opened elsewhere in the country, especially along the coast.

Geldof and Van Dongen make their call in the five-part podcast series The Missing of ’53, launching PZC and AD. You can listen to the first two episodes from today.