DNA Samples Taken from Families of 2 Missing New Haven Women

Family members of two women reported missing from New Haven around 10 years ago have submitted DNA samples as police try to identify human remains found in Vernon last year.

A Vernon resident who was searching for scrap metal to build a sculpture stumbled upon a skull in March 2013 in the area of 126 West Street, which used to be the Rockville Landfill.

For the last year, police have been unable to identify the remains but have made some progress and determined they are that of a white woman in her 40s. On Tuesday, police released a sketch a Quinnipiac University medical student created based on the woman’s biological profile.

New Haven police said on Thursday that they have two missing persons cases, each about 10 years old, that could be related and police have taken DNA samples from their relatives to help the investigation.

One of the family members is the mother of Evelyn Ann Frisco, who disappeared on June 29, 2004 at the age of 42 following a court appearance for shoplifting.

"Everybody says she must be dead. I think so," said Janet Frisco, who said the family has ideas about what may have happened but are still living in uncertainty. "She used to call all the time, reverse the charges, or whatever. I would take it, but I haven't heard a word."

Police took a DNA sample from Janet Frisco and from the family of Lisa Calvo, wo went missing from New Haven in 2005.

This is a common investigative tool, police said, and there is no evidence to tie the missing women to the remains found in Vernon other than their ages.

"The only thing you can do is pray now that maybe the DNA will come through that it's her," Janet Frisco said.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s National Missing and Unidentified Persons System compares unidentified remains and missing persons. So far, they have ruled 15 cases.

New Haven police said DNA samples have been taken about a dozen times since the remains were found in Vernon.

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