MS HB685

Law enforcement agencies must enter missing or unidentified person reports into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), including fingerprints, dental records, DNA, and detailed personal descriptions; reports involving missing children must be entered without delay

State Medical Examiner must perform forensic genetic genealogy DNA testing on unidentified human remains within 45 days of receiving possession, using profiles compatible with genealogy databases consented for law enforcement use

Unidentified human remains automatically fall under State Medical Examiner jurisdiction by operation of law; physicians, hospitals, funeral directors, and others acquiring such remains must immediately submit them and cannot cremate, embalm, or apply other destructive treatments

Willful destruction of a body, body part, or unidentified human remains becomes a felony punishable by up to $5,000 fine and/or two years imprisonment, upgraded from the existing misdemeanor penalty for moving or concealing remains

County medical examiner investigators must enter all unclaimed human remains cases into NamUs within 5 days of identification and no later than 15 days from date of death; law enforcement training standards must include at least 2 hours on investigating unidentified and missing persons