THE Ontario Provincial Police say the identity of an American’s body discovered nearly 22 years ago near the Ontario-U.S. border has been solved through a genetic genealogy investigation, providing closure to his family .
On May 29, 2003, a man’s body was discovered in the Livingston Canal of the Detroit River, just west of Amherstburg, Ontario, a small town south of Windsor.
For more than two decades, police could not identify the body. THE OPP The Essex County Detachment began an investigation and several attempts were made to identify the remains, with no positive results.
The man was wearing dark-colored pants, a dark shirt and a winter coat and mountain boots.
In early 2023, the DNA was subjected to a genetic genealogy investigation to identify the man. A few months later, police said that thanks to genealogical support from Toronto police, an “alleged” identity had been determined.
“In September 2024, DNA from a family member was used to confirm the man was 48-year-old James Raymond Stewart of Detroit, Michigan, reported missing in November 2002,” police said.
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The following month, Stewart’s family members traveled to Amherstburg, Ontario. to visit Stewart’s headstone.
Family said Stewart was born May 31, 1954. His sister said in a video posted on YouTube by the OPP that Stewart was a “sensitive” and “quiet” man. He worked for a few years in the Navy in the 1970s, then in restaurants in the Detroit area.
The family lived in Arizona, and her sister said Thanksgiving was always bittersweet because it was around the time Stewart went missing.
“This is the end for us because we had no idea,” his sister said. “Both our parents died and had no idea.”
“So we’re just celebrating the fact that we now have closure… He’s not going to be a John Doe anymore.”
https://x.com/OPP_News/status/1876314215658438710
The cause of death was undetermined, according to the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service. However, police said “no foul play was suspected in his death.”
“After two decades, we were finally able to provide this family with answers about James, through investigative genetic genealogy,” said Det. Insp. Randy Gaynor of the Ontario Provincial Police.
“This investigative tool has proven invaluable, allowing law enforcement to solve even decades-old cases and offering hope to others facing similar circumstances,” Gaynor continued. “Its ability to connect distant relatives through DNA has transformed the landscape of investigating historical homicides and unidentified human remains. »
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