Piet has been waiting 62 years for news about his missing brother: will he get closure?

The recent exhumation of nine unidentified victims on the island of Texel has brought new hope to relatives of long-missing persons. Among them are Piet Bijl and Jos de Kruijf, who have spent decades searching for answers regarding their brothers, both of whom disappeared at sea decades ago. Piet’s brother, Aad, went missing from a ship in 1963, while Jos’s brother, Jan, disappeared during a 1958 shipwreck near the Texel coast. For both, the uncertainty has remained a painful, open wound throughout their lives.

Following reports of the exhumations, both individuals learned that they could provide DNA samples to aid in identifying unknown remains stored in forensic databases. Previously unaware of this possibility, they both intend to submit their DNA to the police in hopes of finally finding closure. Although officials warn that the matching process through the Netherlands Forensic Institute can be a lengthy endeavor, the families remain determined to gain clarity on the fate of their loved ones.