It's imperfect but better than nothing. Detectives do understand limitations of such techniques.<p>Of course DNA exhibit phenotypes, so if it's an opportunity to know the skin color, the shape of the face, the eyes colors, the gender, etc.<p>Pair that with the place where the person was likely born and potential relatives (ancestry) and you may find someone interesting, or who knows something useful.
I'd like to see them run a known person's DNA through their system and see what it does. I'm sure the company has done this already, and they should share the results with the police to give them an idea of how reliable the results are.<p>Cops would not be expected to understand the limitations of this otherwise. Although I do give them credit for trying to solve a cold case.