22 yrs ago a juvenile was brutally raped, this month, CODIS DNA system identifies a health care executive Eric Ferguson

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

1. more... here is how he was caught

Investigators took a DNA swab from the victim.

The results were uploaded to a national database of other DNA profiles, called CODIS or Combined DNA Index System, with no hits for decades.

"Many of these profiles lie dormant, just waiting for something to be matched up to them," Beard said.

Two decades passed without any leads.

Then detectives learned of a possible DNA match two years ago.


That led them to 49-year-old Eric Ferguson of Northern Idaho.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office says they got his DNA swab when he was arrested for a DUI in 2022.

"From our understanding, this is from a previous arrest where they had taken his DNA sample, and so it kind of gave them the tip but we needed to get it directly from a search warrant from his body and so it really got the investigation going again for them," Zachary Sifford, a spokesperson for the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said.

Beard says two years later, two of his newer detectives got a search warrant to do their own DNA swab to confirm the match.

They hopped on a plane and with the help of three other agencies, they got a fresh DNA sample from Ferguson.

They flew it back to California and confirmed a match.

"They notified us and we assembled our joint task force swat team with the City of Coeur d'Alene Police and we executed that warrant for his arrest, he surrendered right away and went into custody without any incident," Sifford said.

https://abc7news.com/post/idaho-man-eric-ferguson-arrested-rape-kidnapping-oakley/14884382/