Crewmember of 150-year-old lost expedition identified using DNA by Ontario researchers [Video]

Ontario university researchers say they used DNA samples to identify a second crew member from Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated 1845 Northwest Passage expedition.

The researchers from the University of Waterloo and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay say the match of James Fitzjames’ bones were made possible through the use of a DNA sample from a living descendant.

“We worked with a good quality sample that allowed us to generate a Y-chromosome profile, and we were lucky enough to obtain a match,” stated Stephen Fratpietro of Lakehead’s Paleo-DNA lab, in a release from the University of Waterloo.

Fitzjames was one of the senior officers on the expedition, which saw two ships disappear in Nunavut in 1845.

The ships were locked in by ice and FitzJames tried to help lead the 105 men to safety but none would survive and their remains have been found around King William Island, Nunavut, from time to time over the years since.