Ramapo College helps identify man found off Atlantic City in 1981
The breakthrough came during a weeklong training program in Australia, where Ramapo instructors worked alongside forensic science students from the University of Technology Sydney and law enforcement professionals from Australia and New Zealand.
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After 45 years without answers, a South Carolina family finally knows what happened to their loved one after his remains were found off the New Jersey coast.
Glen Napoleon Burbage’s body was found floating about a mile off the Atlantic City shoreline on May 22, 1981. Investigators were unable to identify him at the time, leaving his family without answers for decades.
The New Jersey State Police contacted Ramapo College’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center earlier this year for help with the case. Researchers and students used investigative genetic genealogy to trace DNA matches and build family trees, eventually identifying Burbage as a potential match. His identity was later confirmed through DNA testing involving one of his children.
“It’s always bittersweet for me personally, because you know that you’re giving answers to families that have been looking for a very long time,” said Tracie Boyle, director of case management at the center.
The breakthrough came during a weeklong training program in Australia, where Ramapo instructors worked alongside forensic science students from the University of Technology Sydney and law enforcement professionals from Australia and New Zealand.
Burbage was a retired U.S. Coast Guard chief warrant officer from Charleston, South Carolina. He later worked as a merchant mariner, and his ship was sailing out of the Atlantic City area around the time he disappeared.
His son, Robert Daniel Burbage, said the family spent years worrying about his father’s disappearance before gradually accepting that he had likely died.
The family learned in late spring or early summer that investigators believed the remains could be Burbage’s. They received confirmation of the DNA match within the last 30 days, his son said.
The family hopes to eventually bring his remains home to be buried in the family cemetery plot alongside his wife and two daughters.
While his identity has been confirmed, authorities have not determined exactly what happened to him. His son said the family appreciates the New Jersey State Police’s thorough work and sensitivity throughout the investigation.
Ramapo College’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center works with law enforcement and medical examiners on unidentified-person cases and other investigations. Boyle said the center has received about 140 cases and typically helps resolve 20 to 30 cases each year.
For Burbage’s family, the identification offers a long-awaited piece of the puzzle, even as questions about his death remain.
