Detectives have identified and obtained DNA from family members of two men missing for more than 40 years after a boat capsized off Newcastle.
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NSW Police last year received a submission from a 48-year-old woman who offered her DNA, as part of a national collection and analysis program.
Detectives working for the Missing Persons Registry believed the woman was the daughter of one of two men who went missing during a boat accident off Newcastle in 1983.
At the time, Newcastle police investigated the incident with both air and sea searches, but the men - aged 37 and 27 - were never found and the matter was referred to the coroner.
Upon obtaining and reviewing the coronial brief, it was revealed the two men - both Vietnamese nationals living in Sydney with their families - boarded the vessel Wyuna on April 10 to go deep sea fishing. The two men were the only people on board at the time.
The Wyuna left via Nobbys headland and went out to sea off the Swansea coast. During the evening, the boat capsized and both men were lost.
The coronial brief named the second man, but no other identifying details were available.
Detectives spent months searching the police database and in May 2024 identified a likely family member of the second man, who has since provided a familial DNA sample.
The two men have now been added to the NSW Missing Persons database and the familial DNA of both relatives have been added to the DNA database in the hope of one day locating and identifying their remains.
Missing Persons Registry manager Detective Inspector Ritchie Sim said all missing people deserved to be found and returned to their family.
"Our detectives don't give up when searching for missing people. We are always searching with the goal of reuniting families, providing them answers where possible, and helping them through the grieving process," he said.
"For us it doesn't matter if a person went missing over 40 years ago or last week; they are still a person and deserve to be returned to their family.
"The role of familial DNA in this case can't be understated as it may be the key to finally putting another 40-year-old case to rest both for the families affected but also for the detectives that have stuck with it over the years.
"Missing person investigations are not criminal matters, and your DNA is not stored in any criminal or suspect data base. Your DNA will only be used to hopefully solve these cases and provide answers to your family.
"If you have reported a family member missing to police, and you have the event number, I urge you to go to your local police station and provide your DNA if you haven't done so already. Your relationship with the missing person can be several generations apart.
"If you don't have an event reference number, you can still help. You can provide your DNA to commercial databases such as Gedmatch and Familytree DNA. As long as you tick the option to release your DNA for law enforcement purposes, we can use your DNA and hopefully solve a mystery.
"Your relative may have already been found, we just don't know as yet, as we haven't been able to identify them until now. This technology and capability now gives us the best opportunity yet, to achieve this."
Missing Persons Week is an annual national campaign to raise awareness of the issues and impacts surrounding missing persons.
This year's 'Always Searching' campaign runs from July 28 to August 3.
