The methods used to investigate crime have evolved considerably over time… fingerprint analysis dates back to the 1880s, and the roots of forensic toxicology go all the way back to the first century, but most think of DNA evidence as the most effective tool in the investigator’s tool chest.

The use of DNA evidence is a fairly recent development in the world of criminal investigation, having only become practical in the 1990s, and despite its reputation as ironclad evidence, DNA has its shortcomings and law enforcement has continually pressed to advance investigative techniques even further. With the recent development of genealogical DNA analysis, sometimes known as genetic genealogy, they may have done just that.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

It’s been a long time since I’ve published a new chapter, and there are a number of reasons for that. I started this chapter one night last fall, just as a storm began to roll in. It was just before sundown and the sky was dark and featureless, mostly a flat gray, but just as the sun reached the horizon, it cast a sickly yellow glow on the neighborhood which came and went quickly as dusk set in. Soon there were flashes of light and rumbles of distant thunder; the sky grew dark. I thought Yeah, this would be a great time to settle-in and write the next chapter.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

If someone in your family had fourteen children and seven of them died before the age of two, what would be your first thought?

I discovered two ancestors, my Great Great Grandfather and Grandmother, Joseph Maltby and Anna Simpson, had fourteen children in the span of about 25 years, between the mid-1870s and early-1900s, and at least seven of them died before the age of two, many of them before their first birthday.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

I was in my bed reading a book when I heard the back door close. It was after bedtime on a weeknight and I was supposed to be asleep. I don’t recall if my mom was in bed or working at the time, but my dad had been out having a couple beers, and when I heard the back door close, I knew I was going to be in trouble if I was caught awake after bedtime, so I quickly reached over and clicked off the bedside lamp.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

The posts about the haunting in our house don’t come as frequently as they once did, I know, but things ebb and flow and mostly it’s been ebb… until recently.

We’ve been moving a lot of things around at our house as we get rid of a few things, and it seems almost like the activity, opening up new spaces… something has, not to sound ominous, awakened. Lately there’s been a little of this and a little of that. Going back to chapter 5 of this story I wrote about how we frequently get reminders in the form of electrical anomalies — Hey family, don’t forget about me. Recently though, I’ve been getting reminders in light and shadow.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

Now and then, when I’m reading something new, I say to myself “Holy cow! That should be a movie,” and then I usually add it to a list for some future day when I have time to blog about it. You can read the previous examples, 12 Real Stories Begging for Movie Treatment, and 9 More True Stories That Should Be Movies, or read on for these 7 stories, all prime candidates for the Hollywood treatment. Here are 7 more true stories that should be movies.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.