America's Crime Lab

Episode: "Project 525: Missing and Murdered Children"

Original Air Date: November 5, 2025

Podcast by iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope

Host: Alin Lance Lesser

Guest: Kristin Mittleman, Chief Business Development Officer at Othram

Episode Overview

This episode delves into Othram’s Project 525, a mission to identify 525 missing and murdered children in the United States and "give them their name back." Host Alin Lance Lesser and Othram's Kristin Mittleman walk listeners through gut-wrenching cases, remarkable scientific advances, and the transformative promise of advanced forensic DNA testing to break through even the coldest of cases. The episode highlights the painful reality that many child victims are never even reported missing, discusses the hurdles faced by investigators, and celebrates the victories when family members finally learn the fate of a loved one—sometimes decades later.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Grim Reality: Unidentified & Forgotten Children

• Prevalence of Unidentified Child Victims

  • Kristin Mittleman opens with a sobering truth: many unidentified remains cases handled by Othram are children, often never reported missing because those responsible for their harm are also supposed to report them.
  • “Many of them were children. And unfortunately with children, the people that harm them are usually the people that would report them missing. So they were never reported missing.” — Kristin Mittleman [02:48]

• Project 525’s Mission

  • The initiative aims to tackle 525 such cold cases, named for May 25th (National Missing Children’s Day in the US).
  • “Some of these victims, especially these young children, they're not even on a backlog...The case is just lost in time.” — Kristin Mittleman [04:38]

Case Studies: From DNA Dead Ends to Names Restored

• Opelika Baby Jane Doe / Amor Wiggins

  • In 2012, the remains of a young girl were found in Opelika, Alabama. Years passed with no identification until Othram extracted DNA from her scalp, solving the case after a decade.
  • The mother was still paying child support to her daughter’s murderer, believing her child was alive. The identification brought closure and justice.
  • “Her name was Amor Wiggins...she's no longer paying child support to the monster that did this. He's confessed to the crime...” — Kristin Mittleman [06:23]

• Beth Doe / Evelyn Colon

  • In 1976, the body of a pregnant 15-year-old was found in a Pennsylvania lake. Decades later, Othram used degraded DNA from her bones to build a profile, leading to the identification via genealogical reconnection by a nephew.
  • A key twist: the family had long received a letter allegedly from Evelyn, but it was written by her killer. The boyfriend was ultimately charged.
  • “It turns out the boyfriend had written the letter after her murder. Evelyn was dead. It wasn't the news the family was expecting, but now they had the truth.” — Alin Lance Lesser [07:59]

• Walker County Jane Doe / Sherri Ann Jarvis

  • In 1980, the body of a teenager was found in Texas with only scant tissue preserved on a microscope slide.
  • Othram pioneered a method using paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE block), replicating decades-old preservation conditions to extract DNA.
  • “We started to create FFPE blocks in our research lab...and within about six months, we were able to reproducibly get sequencing results from this type of DNA.” — Kristin Mittleman [16:03]
  • Result: After 40 years, Sherri Ann Jarvis was identified and her family finally learned her fate.

• Andrea Michelle Reyes: A Rare Happy Ending

  • A 23-month-old abducted in 1999 and presumed gone forever was found alive at age 27, thanks to renewed investigation and rapid kinship DNA matching.
  • “She's not the first, she's actually the second child to be found alive.” — Kristin Mittleman [20:32]

The Technology: Pushing Forensic Science Forward

• Mock Casework and Innovative DNA Processing

  • Othram often runs mock experiments with control DNA to refine methods before consuming scant, irreplaceable evidence in real cases.
  • This process is the reason for multiple breakthroughs, including the Walker County case.

• Reluctance and Hurdles from Law Enforcement

  • Despite demonstrated, courtroom-validated results, many police departments hesitate to allocate evidence or budget for advanced DNA analysis.
  • “Sometimes people out there tell law enforcement they can do things they can't do. And law enforcement has tried and they've been burned...unfortunately that's a big hurdle.” — Kristin Mittleman [18:31]

• Cost of Justice

  • Full casework is estimated at $8,000–$12,000 per case—no more than a couple months’ detective salary, yet still a barrier in many jurisdictions.

Building Databases & Partnerships

• The Role of NAMUS
  • The federal National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) database holds around 24,000 unresolved cases, 24% of which are children.
  • Othram partners with NAMUS but always needs local police buy-in for evidence submission and casework.

The Psychological & Societal Impact

• Restoring Names Restores Stories
  • Each identification allows law enforcement to reconstruct last days, find witnesses, and pursue justice.
  • “You can't ever solve a crime when you don't know who your victim is...That's why I think this project is necessary, to show that there is hope.” — Kristin Mittleman [23:59]
  • Kristin argues publicly that routine success with these cases will deter future crimes by making it clear the identities of child victims will not stay hidden.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On why so many victims remain unidentified:

  • "[With children,] the people that harm them are usually the people that would report them missing. So they were never reported missing." — Kristin Mittleman [02:48]

• About unsolved cases as policy choices, given current technology:

  • "At this point, most unsolved crimes are a choice. We've got the technology, it's been validated...It's just a matter of prioritizing the cases, the effort...and the funding." — David Mittleman [25:55]

• On the transformation DNA technology offers:

  • "This technology helps unstick those cases from DNA dead ends to actual answers. And it's just the beginning. But it's a necessary beginning." — Kristin Mittleman [26:50]

Important Timestamps

• [02:48] — Nature of child victim cold cases; Project 525’s rationale
• [04:38] — Children not even appearing on missing children backlogs
• [06:23] — The tragic and ultimately resolved case of Amor Wiggins
• [07:59] — The ‘Beth Doe’ / Evelyn Colon case and the truth discovered
• [12:36] — Details of Walker County Jane Doe revealed
• [15:42] — Othram’s innovation with FFPE (paraffin-embedded) tissue processing
• [16:33] — Breakthrough in the Walker County case: Sherri Ann Jarvis is named
• [19:08] — Andrea Michelle Reyes: A child abducted, found alive 27 years later
• [23:59] — Project 525’s wider impact and vision: hope, deterrence, and systematic answers for families
• [25:55] — The economics and policy of solving unsolved crimes in the 21st century
• [26:50] — The core challenge: not lack of will, but lack of a person to investigate until DNA gives them a name

Summary & Takeaways

"Project 525: Missing and Murdered Children" is a harrowing but hopeful look into the transformation forensic DNA science is bringing to cases society has long abandoned. Othram’s work is powered by both technological innovation and a deep sense of justice for the nameless and voiceless. For the families and communities, the act of finally learning what happened—sometimes decades after the wound was inflicted—provides a form of closure and a path to justice.

Kristin Mittleman leaves listeners with a poignant challenge: “It's not that the detectives aren't investigating. They have no one to investigate. They're stuck. And this technology helps unstick those cases from DNA dead ends to actual answers. And it's just the beginning. But it's a necessary beginning.” [26:50]

The episode is a powerful call for support, awareness, and ongoing funding for forensic breakthroughs—so every missing child can eventually be returned to their name, their story, and their loved ones.