Eight years later, a SooToday story — along with the latest in DNA technology — has helped to finally solve the mystery of human remains discovered on the shore of Lake Huron.
The case dates back to Oct. 15, 2016, when the body of a man wearing a life jacket was found north of Port Albert.
At the time, the OPP believed the dead man may be the same person who was interviewed and photographed one month earlier by SooToday reporter Jeff Klassen.
That man — a homeless person who told SooToday his name was Mitchell Nelson — was on a cross-country bike and canoe journey from Edmonton to London, Ont.
When Klassen met him that day, he was pushing his bike and 15-foot canoe eastbound along Highway 17, near Espanola.
He said his plans were to pull his canoe to the far eastern side of Manitoulin Island and then make the journey across Georgian Bay and Lake Huron to southeastern Ontario.
The man said he’d spent the previous eight years working jobs in Alberta and travelling out west, but with the economy in a downturn he was heading back to London to see friends and family.
After the body was discovered, the OPP shared the SooToday photos and asked anyone who knew the man to come forward.
But it wasn’t until this summer that police finally made a breakthrough on the case.
In January, 2023, detectives with the OPP’s Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) submitted the man’s DNA for a technique known as Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG).
With "genealogy support" from Toronto Police, a family member's DNA was used to confirm the man's identity on July 15, 2024. His real name was Garnet Michael Nelson.
“He was 56 years old at the time of his death and investigators have confirmed that he is the same man that was interviewed by the news outlet in September 2016," says a news release issued today by the OPP.
The investigation was assisted by Huron County OPP Crime Unit, OPP Forensic Identification Services, Victim Services, the Office of the Chief Coroner (OCC) and OFPS.
“Investigative genetic genealogy has proven to be an invaluable resource for us as investigators, especially when all other methods have been exhausted,” said Detective Inspector Randy Gaynor of the CIB. “In this particular case, it was only through the use of this advanced tool that we were able to bring resolution to Garnet's family. We would like to thank the public and media for their interest in this case and the tips provided over the years.”