What some have called the last great mystery of the Titanic disaster has been solved, and it's all thanks to a DNA test.
When the massive "Unsinkable Ship" hit an iceberg and sank more than 100 years ago, only one child in first class had reportedly died in the accident — 2-year-old Loraine Allison. (Via History Channel)
CNET reports Loraine apparently didn't get in a lifeboat because her parents were desperately trying to find her younger brother. The young girl and her mother's bodies were never found after the wreck.
But in 1940, almost 30 years after the Titanic sank, a woman came forward on a radio show claiming to be the long-lost Loraine.
According to New York Daily News, Helen Kramer was able to provide intimate details about the wealthy Allison family and tried for years to get the surviving members to accept her as their relative.
She reportedly sold posters, mugs, mats and other objects to spread the word about her claim, and she even planned to write a book about it.
But the Allison family never believed Kramer was Loraine, and they fought to expose her as a fraud who was out to get their money for years, even after Kramer's death in 1992. (Via Wikimedia Commons / Thedebrina)
And now, decades later, the Allisons have proof they were right about Kramer.
Recent DNA tests conducted by a group of Titanic aficionados show there is absolutely no genetic link between Kramer and the Allison family's descendants. (Via Daily Mail)
The Loraine Allison Identification Project wrote on its website: "We have received the results of the mtDNA testing. ... The results confirm that Mrs. Kramer was NOT Loraine Allison. Further updates with comments from the Allison and Kramer descendants will follow ... as well as an official press release, and where we go from here."
A reporter for The Telegraph spoke with David Allison, the grandson of Loraine's uncle, shortly after the news broke.
He told the outlet: "The Allisons never accepted Mrs. Kramer's claim, but the stress it caused was real. It forced my ancestors to relive painful memories described to me as immeasurable sorrow and unending grief."
While she was still alive, Kramer denied she had any interest in the Allisons' money. Investigators are still working to determine who Kramer really was before she came forward as Loraine Allison.
