Missing beauty queen: DNA in SUV matches kin

MANILA, Philippines — The DNA in hair strands and blood samples found in an abandoned sport utility vehicle linked to the disappearance of beauty pageant candidate Catherine Camilon in Batangas matched with the samples taken from the victim’s family, police said.

At a press briefing at Camp Crame, Philippine National Police public information office chief Col. Jean Fajardo said the forensic group is finalizing its report.

When asked about the possibility of getting a DNA sample from a suspect, Fajardo said probers cannot force the suspects to provide a sample.

“We are not in that stage yet,” Fajardo said.

She did not elaborate, citing the request of the forensic group to avoid compromising ongoing tests on other recovered specimens.

“The positive match indicates that Catherine Camilon was… in the recovered (Honda) CRV, corroborating eyewitness accounts of a bloodied woman being transferred from a Nissan Juke to a red Honda CRV,” Fajardo said.

Two witnesses had earlier identified one of the three men seen carrying a bloodied woman as the driver of Maj. Allan de Castro, one of those implicated in the case.

Fajardo said the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group regional office has informed Camilon’s family about its findings.

She said the charges filed against the suspects are still for kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

Probers are still treating it as a missing person case, Fajardo said.