DNA solves the mystery of a body found in the Arctic in 1859

Scientists have used DNA from living descendants to identify four more members of the doomed Franklin expedition, including Harry Peglar, whose identity had remained uncertain for 166 years. The findings offer new clues about the sailors who survived for years in the Arctic before joining the expedition’s ultimately fatal escape attempt. DNA solves the mystery of a body found in the Arctic in 1859.

DNA solves the mystery of a body found in the Arctic in 1859 Science News from research organizations DNA solves the mystery of a body found in the Arctic in 1859 DNA has solved a 166-year-old Franklin expedition mystery and revealed the identities of four sailors lost in the Arctic. Douglas Stenton, Anthropologist and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo, excavating the bones of Franklin sailors at Erebus Bay (University of Waterloo). Anthropologists from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo led the research, using DNA recovered from skeletal remains and comparing it with samples.

The four new matches raise the number of Franklin expedition sailors identified through DNA to six. A Fatal Escape Across the Arctic By April 1848, Franklin’s two ships, Erebus and Terror, had been trapped in Arctic ice for nearly two years. The 105 surviving crew members abandoned the vessels and began a desperate attempt to reach safety, traveling along the west coast of King William Island, Nunavut, while hauling boats on sleds.

Since the mid-19th century, remains belonging to members of the expedition have been discovered on King William Island and the Adelaide Peninsula.