CHARLOTTE — The mystery of Kenneth McCarthy’s disappearance in Charlotte in 2013 has been solved, bringing closure to his family after more than a decade.
Kenneth McCarthy, an IT professional and athlete from New Jersey, vanished during a work trip to Charlotte in 2013.
His skeletal remains were discovered in 2016 near his hotel, but they remained unidentified until recently.
“It was a pendulum swing of emotions from knowing in our hearts that he was gone years ago to now being able to bring him home,” said Mike McCarthy, Kenneth’s brother.
For years, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Cold Case Unit struggled to identify the remains found in the University area.
The breakthrough came with the use of genetic genealogy, a cutting-edge technique that traces family trees using DNA.
Tracie Boyle, the case manager at Ramapo College’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center, explained the complexity of the task: “It’s like a very complicated 5000-word puzzle sometimes.”
The researchers had to delve into Irish genealogy records dating back to 1864 to reconstruct Kenneth McCarthy’s family background. This painstaking work eventually led to a match.
Matt Hefner from the CMPD Cold Case Unit contacted the McCarthy family with the news.
“Is Mike missing any family members?” he asked, leading to the identification of Kenneth McCarthy.
Kenneth McCarthy was known for his achievements in judo and his near-qualification for the Olympic team.
His remains were found by a person who was unhoused and foraging in a wooded area behind a Walmart.
The identification of Kenneth McCarthy’s remains has brought a sense of closure to his family, who expressed gratitude to the investigators and researchers involved.
“Not giving up hope and continuing to search and never forgetting what that person was in your life,” Mike McCarthy reflected on the journey to finding his brother.
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