A cold case is solved as a New Jersey family finally has answers 12 years after their loved one mysteriously disappeared.

It took persistence across two states and investigative genetic genealogy to lead to a break in the case of Kenneth McCarthy.

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His brother, Michael McCarthy, said that he has felt a painful void since 2013 when Kenneth went missing.

"Ken was two years younger than me. He's a phenomenal guy," Michael said. “Ken was academically brilliant.”

For 12 years, New Jersey residents Michael and his wife, Nancy, lived with unanswered questions after Ken suddenly vanished while living in North Carolina.

"So much time had passed, we just figured that we would never, ever have an answer," Nancy e

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