‘It is torturous’: Family of missing autistic teen still waiting for DNA results on body found last December

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Shamar Harrigan (File photo)
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By Charminae George

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For the family of Shamar Harrigan, it has been nine torturous months of waiting for forensic DNA results.

Early in December 2022, human remains were found near the salt pond in Willikies. To date, the family of 19-year-old Shamar has yet to receive confirmation that the remains are those of the missing autistic teen.

Harrigan’s sister, Shauntelle Barton, who confirmed yesterday that the family has not received any recent word from the authorities, told Observer of the excruciating wait for answers.

 “Just not knowing is very torturous and it really hurts…A day does not go by and I don’t allow my mind to wander on him,” she said, with emotional pain evident in her voice.

Barton shared that she deeply misses her brother, and she cited some of the characteristics of his distinctive personality.

“I miss Shamar…the way he laughs, the way he would say things, his reaction, the fact that he loves to eat, just everything,” she said.

With no choice but to wait for official identity of the human remains, the family is unable to get closure.

“We need to know if it is him. If it’s not, do we continue to search? If it is him, we need to do what we have to do,” she explained.

Police spokesman, Inspector Frankie Thomas, confirmed that forensic results for the human remains are not ready as yet.

Harrigan left his home in Willikies on November 14 last year and has not been seen since. After approximately three weeks of searching, the teen’s clothes, shoes and backpack were found in thick brush, south of the Willikies salt pond on December 4.

Human remains were later found 400 yards from the articles of clothing.

Tragically, the Harrigan family is not the first to suffer a lengthy wait for answers. With no local forensics lab, DNA samples must be sent overseas for analysis and often take months to be returned.

The family of Dequan Cummins were in a similar situation when they were forced to wait 11 months for DNA results of burnt human remains from a fire in Nut Grove.

They were eventually confirmed to be those of the 16-year-old who lost his life in the January 2022 fire that ravaged the family’s home.

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