20/20: Unable to Identify on ABC investigates unidentified victims
Special edition of the American news magazine focuses on the forgotten victims and genetic genealogy
What is the series about?
20/20: Unable to Identify is a special episode of the long-running American news magazine on ABC, airing on November 28, 2025. The program focuses on the growing use of forensic genetic genealogy to identify victims of homicides and accidents that have remained as 'John Doe' or 'Jane Doe' in American archives for decades. Led by hosts David Muir and Deborah Roberts, the broadcast follows the dedicated investigators and genealogists who tirelessly work to match DNA profiles from criminal cases with public databases to find relatives. This Thanksgiving special emphasizes the human aspect of bringing closure to families who have lived in uncertainty for generations.
The real case
The real case behind Unable to Identify is not limited to a single criminal act but covers the systemic problem of thousands of unidentified bodies in the USA. The program is based on the technological advancements that have occurred since the breakthrough in the case of Golden State Killer , where police truly learned to leverage genealogy in criminal cases. This episode examines specific cases from various American states where victims have been found in remote areas or unmarked graves. The documentary highlights how modern science can reconstruct faces and trace genetic roots, even when physical evidence is scarce. The central theme is the right to an identity and the significance it has for justice that a victim can be identified before a murderer can be held accountable.
Timeline of the case
The investigation of unidentified individuals has undergone significant development over the past decades. In the 1970s and 1980s, police were limited to fingerprints and dental records, often leaving cases cold for years. With the establishment of the CODIS database in the 1990s, a tool was created to match DNA from crime scenes with known criminals, but it rarely helped identify the victims themselves. Since around 2018, the use of genetic genealogy has revolutionized the field. The program covers the latest updates from November 2025, where new identifications have been made possible through collaboration between private laboratories and federal authorities like the FBI. This timeline shows a shift from manual police work to high-tech data analysis.