Summary
In May of 2016, an unidentified young man was found on the shore of Lake Laberge north of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Historic Case Unit and Yukon Coroner’s Service (YCS) exhausted all forensic and investigative routes in hopes of identifying the young man, but were unsuccessful. Aerial, water, and ground searches were conducted to try and locate any sort of additional information regarding his identity, yet these efforts were unsuccessful. The autopsy was inconclusive in regards to what caused the young man’s death.
In 2020, the RCMP Historic Case Unit and YCS teamed up with Othram with the goal of developing new investigative leads as to the identity of the young man. Othram used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® and other advanced forensic DNA technologies to aid in the investigation. With the fresh genetic leads that emerged, investigators were able to identify family members and a candidate identity for the unidentified man. Further DNA testing by Yukon’s YCS and Historic Case Unit confirmed the man’s identity as 32-year-old Alberta native Nathan Eugene Hine. Historic Case Unit investigators have established that Mr. Hine was in Yukon as recently as late 2015. An investigation into the circumstances of his death continues.
Anyone with any information regarding Hine’s whereabouts at the time or circumstances of death are encouraged to reach out to the RCMP Historic Case tip line, 867-667-5588, MDIV_HCU@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
Michael Vogen
Director of Case Management
Michael works with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada on “unsolvable“ cases that can benefit from advanced DNA testing methods. He helps these agencies use cutting edge DNA sequencing and new forensic techniques to develop investigative leads for their cases.