A man from the Ottawa area who lost touch with his family and was found dead in Toronto in 2022 has been identified with the help of advanced genetic genealogy.
Toronto police located the man’s body in the St. Clarens Avenue and Dupont Street area in Toronto’s Junction-Wallace Emerson neighbourhood on March 22, 2022.
“He did not have any identification with him, and attempts to compare his fingerprints to police databases did not assist with identification,” police said.
Investigators worked at identifying the man by canvassing nearby businesses and through public outreach, but those attempts came up empty.
In May 2024, Toronto police began using Investigative Genetic Genealogy for this case and found relatives of the man throughout Eastern Ontario. In March of this year, the investigation revealed a possible name of the man.
“Members of the Toronto Police Service contacted his relatives in the Ottawa area, who said they had lost contact with him after the pandemic,” police said.
The man’s identity was confirmed as Clancy, who was from the Ottawa area and was approximately 30 years old at the time of his death. Toronto police said members of the Ottawa Police Service notified his family.
At the request of the family, his name is not being released.