remains of Shane Workman<\/a>, which were identified years after being discovered in the Susquehanna River. <\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/582aa1a0-1b22-4411-a42d-3561644581ac.jpg\")
DNA technology identifies remains years later<\/p>\n
Workman\u2019s remains, consisting of two femurs and a tibia, were found by a duck hunter near Ely Island in Conoy Township, Lancaster County, five years ago.<\/p>\n
This content is imported from infogram. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.<\/p>\n
Using forensic genetic genealogy and a DNA sample from Workman\u2019s mother, investigators confirmed his identity. Workman had disappeared from Mifflin County in 2017. <\/p>\n
Dr. Stephen Diamantoni from the Lancaster County Coroner\u2019s Office explained that degraded DNA made testing difficult, but the team ultimately achieved a 99.99% match using a relative\u2019s cheek swab. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud of the dedication and commitment of individuals within our office who had the perseverance to work, to find out, you know, who that individual was. I mean, one of the responsibilities of the coroner\u2019s office is to provide identification of, of remains. And, you know, thankfully with the technology as it is today, we\u2019re able to do that much more frequently and with much greater accuracy than we would have been able to do decades ago,\u201d Diamantoni said. <\/p>\n
Questions remain about Workman\u2019s death<\/p>\n
However, the case remains unsolved, as authorities have not determined how Workman died. Lewistown police are pursuing leads based on Workman\u2019s cell phone records and evidence collected during the recovery of his remains. <\/p>\n
Pennsylvania invests in cold-case technology<\/p>\n
State leaders are now focusing on providing resources to help solve cases like Workman\u2019s. A portion of Pennsylvania\u2019s $50 billion budget will fund the Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods (VICTIM) program, which aims to upgrade technology for analyzing evidence, including rapid DNA testing. <\/p>\n
Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis introduced the program in Philadelphia, highlighting its importance for families awaiting justice. <\/p>\n
\u201cStatewide, violent crime is down 16 percent since we took office, but we can\u2019t truly celebrate while so many families are still mourning, still grieving, still waiting for justice,\u201d Davis said. <\/p>\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/c375059d-5a5f-4427-92cc-6bee2f89c5ea.jpg\")
Funding offers hope to families awaiting answers<\/p>\n
For one Pennsylvania mother whose son was killed in Philadelphia\u2019s Germantown neighborhood in 2016, the announcement offers hope after nearly a decade of waiting for answers. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been on this path, I have not slept well in 10 years,\u201d Julia Robbins said. \u201cAnd this person probably walks, that\u2019s just how I feel.\u201d <\/p>\n
Budget expands violence prevention and victim services<\/p>\n
The state budget also includes $50 million for community anti-violence organizations and increased funding for victim services, including $4.5 million for the Victims Compensation Assistance Program, which supports victims and survivors of crime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania allocates millions to solve cold cases as Shane Workman investigation continues Pennsylvania is investing millions to help…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[110320,110321,110322,110327,110323,3685,27004,78246,28,30,29,110328,110324,4335,110325,110326],"class_list":["post-260024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-conoy-township","tag-dr-stephen-diamantoni","tag-ely-island","tag-investing-millions","tag-julia-robbins","tag-lancaster-county","tag-lancaster-county-coroners-office","tag-lieutenant-governor-austin-davis","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-remains-found","tag-shane-workman","tag-susquehanna-river","tag-victim-program","tag-violent-incident-clearance-and-technological-investigative-methods"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/a><\/p>\n