Almost two weeks after the body of 11-year-old Marco Archer was found in bushes behind a Cable Beach apartment complex, his family is still waiting for police to return his remains.
Superintendent Paul Rolle, who heads the Central Detective Unit, told The Nassau Guardian yesterday that police have sent DNA samples from the body to Florida for testing and are awaiting the results.
Rolle said the matter was being handled through the forensics division of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and he was uncertain as to when the results will be returned.
"We are just waiting until we get the results back," he said.
"We are hoping to get them sooner than later so that the family can bury their loved one."
As has been widely reported, Marco went missing in the Brougham Street area on September 23.
While police said they had a suspect in custody, no one has yet been charged in connection with the boy's murder.
Rolle -- who was careful in the details he was providing -- said once they get the DNA results, they will determine how to proceed in the matter.
Marco's sister, Tancia Humes, said Sunday, the family is anxious to give him a burial reflective of the way he lived his life and the widespread love he received from people who knew him.
She indicated that the family was finding some comfort in the fact that Marco's death was not in vain.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Quinn McCartney, who specializes in forensics, told The Nassau Guardian yesterday that DNA results sent to DNA Labs International in Florida take between one and two months to receive.
McCartney said a building to house the police's DNA lab has been identified at police headquarters and approval was received last week for an architect to assist in maximizing the space at the site.
He said there is a team of about five officers and civilians who have been identified to undergo training in forensics.  McCartney said Fairfax Identity Laboratories out of Virginia will assist in the training and in the establishment of the lab.
"We can start running DNA profiles quickly, but what we want to do is make sure that the individuals are properly trained to international standards [and] properly certified so the results could be accepted anywhere in the world, basically," he said.
McCartney said police hope to start DNA profiling locally some time in 2012.
"We have most of the equipment," he said.  "We have had the equipment for a few years now and so it's just the proper facility [and] trained staff."
McCartney pointed to the importance of being able to conduct DNA profiling locally.
"I think the time it takes to get results will certainly be decreased," he said.
"They have now perfected DNA profiling that in a rush case, you can get results in a matter of days."
McCartney said police are very selective in the cases they send off because of the costs involved, as well as time.
It could cost $1,000 for one set of samples, he indicated, but this does not include costs connected with any travel involved.  Each specimen costs $200 and five are sent on average in a routine case, according to the deputy commissioner.
"With our own local database and with our expertise, we will be able to resolve cases much faster," McCartney said.
Police are carefully putting together the case of Marco Archer, The Nassau Guardian understands, which is why they have not rushed to charge anyone with the crime.
Police want to base the case on solid scientific evidence.
Rolle, the CDU chief, recognized the importance of families having closure in these kinds of matters.  He said once police are in a position to release Marco's remains, his family will be immediately notified.
It took the families of the several boys who went missing in Grand Bahama in 2003 five years to get  their remains and bury their dead.
Marco's family and police are hopeful that his remains will be returned much sooner.

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