DNA test concludes young Boston man is not missing child ‘Rolandito’

A DNA test concluded that a young man in Boston who an informant said could be Rolando Salas Jusino is not the child who went missing 25 years ago. (social media)

By The Star Staff

A DNA test has concluded that a young man who an informant said could be Rolando Salas Jusino is not the child who went missing 25 years ago after being last seen alone in a Toa Alta park.

The information was confirmed Thursday by Department of Public Safety Secretary Alexis Torres Ríos and Puerto Rico Interpol Director Laura Peña after a DNA test performed by the Institute of Forensic Sciences (ICF by its initials in Spanish) analyzed a DNA sample from the young man.

In June of this year, confidences received by Interpol Puerto Rico identified a young man in Boston with physical characteristics and a birthmark similar to those of Salas Jusino, known as “Rolandito.” On Friday, a group of state, federal and Interpol agents traveled to Boston and managed to find the individual, who agreed to have a DNA sample taken, which Interpol delivered to the ICF earlier this week for proper analysis.

“After analyzing the evidence, the ICF excluded the young man from being the biological son of Rolando Salas Cardona and Iris Jusino Seguinot,” Torres Ríos said. “The result was not what we expected, but I am convinced that the handling of this case at this stage was correct. I appreciate the commitment of the team made up of Interpol agents, and Homeland Security Investigations [HSI] in Puerto Rico and Boston. HSI allocated its resources and gave us the necessary support to carry out this investigation.”

The Interpol director added that “We will attend to each of the tips received in this case and all the cases we have before our consideration.”

“I admit that I had high expectations that it was Rolandito because of the evidence I had before me, examined and validated,” Peña said. “We must remember that we constantly ask citizens to collaborate with the authorities, so any new information received will be evaluated responsibly.”

Torres Ríos said he will request that the ICF send the evidence to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children so that it can be included in its records.