Summary

On June 3, 1975, the remains of an unidentified man were discovered near North Bay, Ontario. Investigators recovered partial human remains in a wooded swampland area near an unused logging road off Highway 11. Efforts to identify the man, including forensic testing over the years, were unsuccessful. Despite continued investigative work, the case went cold, and the man went unidentified for more than 50 years.

Details of the case were entered into the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains (NCMPUR) as case number 2005006199. NCMPUR provides specialized investigative services in support of missing persons and unidentified remains investigations across Canada.

In 2023, investigators with the North Bay Police Service re-opened the case. North Bay Poice Service officials, working together with Toronto Police Service and the RCMP, submitted evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists worked to developed a SNP DNA profile from the limited remains using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. This profile was then used in a forensic genetic genealogy, which was led by law enforcement

New leads were developed in the case sparked a follow-up investigation that resulted in the identification of the man as Claude Hamilton Brownscombe, born on October 24, 1896 in Uxbridge, Ontario. This identification provides long-awaited answers to Mr. Brownscombe's family.

Individuals who have taken a consumer DNA test can aid ongoing forensic investigations by joining the DNASolves database. Expanding the pool of available DNA data increases the likelihood of successful identifications, helping to reunite families with their missing loved ones and resolve cases that have remained unsolved for years.

This is the 28th publicly announced case in Ontario where officials leveraged Othram's identity inference pipeline. Learn about other cases by visiting Othram.com.