‘John Doe’ identified in 1995 missing persons Niagara, NY case

New information last summer from a decades-long missing persons case has led to the positive identification of a man first found on the Canadian side of the Niagara River in 1995.

In June of 1995 the remains of a man were recovered by members of the Niagara police. A postmortem was conducted but the person was never positively identified and remained known as “John Doe.”

Last June the Niagara police missing persons unit was contacted by the DoeNetwork — a volunteer organization that brings awareness to missing persons — suggesting a possible match between a missing 46-year-old man from Niagara Falls, NY that was last seen in June, 1995.

At the time of the 1995 disappearance Canadian officials were not made aware of any missing persons case from the U.S.

With new information in 2023 and further investigation with U.S. authorities, DNA was eventually obtained from members of the missing man’s family.

This summer the remains of “John Doe” were positively identified as being that of the missing man from Niagara Falls, NY in June, 1995.

“This incident sheds light into the continued need for the collaboration and communication between both Canada and the U.S. officials to solve these on-going and historical cases. Families need closure, they want answers, and it ultimately is up to us to provide them with this,” says Detective Constable Sara Mummery, who was involved in the missing persons investigation.

The identified man’s family has plans to place a headstone on the grave in Canada.

At the family’s request, the man’s name is not being released.

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