Massachusetts investigators are hoping a lab in Texas can help them use genetic information to find relatives of the little girl whose body was found on Deer Island last month.
David Procopio, a State Police spokesman, said Wednesday that samples had been sent to a facility at the University of North Texas, which can analyze familial mitochondrial DNA.
Though authorities have sent the girl’s DNA to databases for missing children, finding nothing, State Police say the advanced methods used by the lab could help them broaden their search.
The process, which takes several months, could match the child to a close adult relative who may be in a national database like the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS.
Since the girl’s body turned up June 25 in a trash bag, detectives have been searching for her identity, running down hundreds of leads called in by members of the public.
A computer-generated composite image of the child’s face was recently mounted to 84 billboards across the state in hope that someone will recognize her.
The child’s body was wrapped in a zebra-striped fleece blanket and she was wearing polka dot leggings, officials have said. She weighed about 30 pounds and was about 3½ feet tall. She is believed to have been about 4 years old and white or Hispanic.
Procopio said investigators receive dozens of leads every day.
Anyone with information about the child is encouraged to report it. Tips can be texted anonymously to 67283, and a 24-hour hot line has been set up at 617-396-5655.
Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @evanmallen.