Police have identified human remains found at a hydroelectric plant last fall as those of a man from Niagara Falls whose family reported him missing more than a decade ago.
Sir Adam Beck’s power plant staff were conducting routine maintenance in November 2021, which included draining and dredging the hydraulic dams, and discovered two bones.
One bone was determined to be the pelvis of a deer, while the other was a human femur.
On April 12, a retrieved bone DNA profile was uploaded to the RCMP National DNA Data Bank.
Eight days later, there was a positive match between the DNA of the bone and that of a man who had been reported missing in September 2011.
Police said the man’s mother had previously provided a sample to the database.
“This investigation into the missing person has been ongoing for most of the last decade and has left the deceased’s mother devastated, wondering if she would find her son again,” the detective said. Const. Sara Mummery, missing persons coordinator of the Niagara Regional Police.
“Regardless of the time that has passed, families need answers, they want closure, and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to offer them.”
The man’s name is not revealed at the request of his family.
The positive identification marks the 50th missing case solved with the help of DNA analysis through the National DNA program of missing persons.
Created in 2018, the program provides support to law enforcement agencies for the investigation of missing persons and unidentified remains.
DNA profiles are continuously developed, uploaded, and compared at no cost to the research agency.
The program is a partnership between the RCMP, the National Center for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains, and the National DNA Data Bank.
The RMCP encourages families to contact their local police force to report the disappearance of a family member and consider providing a DNA sample for future comparative analysis.
“This case also illustrates the importance of family involvement,” said Dr. Roberta Sinclair, manager of the RMC’s Strategic Police and Research, Strategic and Operational Services branch.
“Without the involvement of families, this goal could not have been achieved.”
Every year, 62,000 people are reported missing in Canada and 40 unidentified human remains are discovered.
There are currently just over 8,000 open cases of missing persons and 760 open cases of unidentified remains in the database of children / missing persons.
In early 2020, the RCMP partnered with the New York Academy of Art to rebuild the skulls of 15 unidentified remains located in Canada. Three of them were later identified.
In 2021, advanced imaging techniques were used to provide interactive 3D models for the rest of the cases, in another collaborative pilot.
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