Today marks 40 years since the abduction and murder of Dana Bradley.

The 14-year-old St. John’s girl was picked up while hitchhiking across from McDonald’s on Topsail Road in the late afternoon of December 14, 1981.

Her body was found four days later by a family looking for a Christmas tree in the woods near Maddox Cove. She had a fractured skull and there was evidence of sexual assault.

Potential suspects have come and gone over the years but to date the case remains unsolved.

But a U.S. ancestry company that’s been solving similar cold cases with genetic DNA is offering to help.

Five years ago, RCMP announced a breakthrough after new DNA linked the killing to a single, unknown person. But this week, police said to date there’s been no progress in identifying that person.

Now, a U.S. company that’s been solving similar cold cases with regularity says it may be able to help.

GEDmatch uses genetic geneology that’s solved about 500 cold cases in the U.S. and Canada. GEDmatch alone was used to solve 75 per cent of those cases, including the 1984 Ontario murder of 9-year-old Christine Jessop.

Company CEO Brett Williams says the Dana Bradley case fits their bill, and extended an invitation to the RCMP.

Corporal Jolene Garland wouldn’t confirm whether RCMP have availed of the new technology, except to say they’re using everything at their disposal.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Dana Bradley’s parents expressed their immense appreciation for the work of the RCMP.

“From day one they have been at our side and left no stone unturned,” reads the statement, “forming bonds of friendship with the many lead investigators over the years.”

They alluded to the recent advances in DNA science, and the hope they will eventually bring justice for their daughter.

But they also had unforgiving words for her killer, stating:

“We can only hope that the feeling of shame in what he has done has plagued him with a life filled with worry and fear at being found out, leaving him to constantly look over his shoulder awaiting the hand of knowledge in his guilt to land on his shoulder.”