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Body ID'd 29 Years After Discovered

Police confirm it was missing Niagara man through dental records and DNA, who's body was buried in New York

The family of a 33-year old Niagara man who police say has been missing since 1994 finally has some answers.

Police found human remains on June 17th of that year, in Lake Ontario near Olcott Harbour in New York State.  Even though an autopsy was done, a positive ID could not be done, and the body was buried in New York as John Doe.

In February of 2019, authorities looked at dental records, leading to a probable ID, but it could not be confirmed due to inconsistencies.

In late 2020, police say a further review of dental records, with family DNA, led to an strong connection between the missing Niagara man and John Doe.

The body was exhumed, and on October 25th, confirmation was made John Doe was the missing man.

The body has been buried in Niagara, and police are not releasing his name at the family's request.

Police have also released the latest statistics when it comes to missing person cases.   In 2021, NRP responded to 1,450 missing person calls for service, it was 1,654 in 2022, and last year NRP received 1,981 calls.  Police are still looking into 6 outstanding cases from 2021, 9 from 2022, and 25 historical and on-going investigations from last year. 

 

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