Canada - General, "Dying Anonymously", possible Canadian version of NamUs

In some cases, such as the mystery man who lay down on the railway tracks in Regina 16 years ago, much is known about their deaths, if not their lives. The neat, clean-shaven young Caucasian man, believed to be in his 20s, carefully lay down in front of an eastbound CP Rail freight train on the main line at the city's western outskirts in mid-afternoon on July 28, 1995.

In the knapsack he dropped before deliberately placing his left ear on the track - his blue eyes facing the oncoming train - the man carried some T-shirts, cigarettes, a pen, and a book of Stephen King's short stories. The pockets of his faded jeans held a comb, $45.05 cash, and a rose-shaped, silver brooch that he seemed to cherish, often taking it out to work between his fingers. However, neither the knapsack nor his clothing held any identification for the seemingly well-educated, well-mannered man who had no tattoos or surgical scars. Dental records, DNA tests, and fingerprints haven't yielded any clue to the man who lies in a Regina cemetery beneath a headstone inscribed "John Doe."

Click to expand...

Where possible, facial reconstructions have been done in hopes that someone just might recognize the person. Such was the case with a badly decomposed body discovered in the South Saskatchewan River by a Rosthern-area farmer on May 26, 1982. The body may have been in the water for as long as nine months. The shirtless corpse wore two pairs of pants - Howick Rider brand jeans and polyester-knit trousers, size 9 ½ cowboy boots with a heel on one held on by duct tape, a size 34 grey belt, and a black money belt on a chain.

The body was exhumed from a Saskatoon cemetery in 2004, and Walker did further studies to learn more about the man, who was determined to be in his late 40s or early 50s, Caucasian, between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot-0 tall, with a rugged build. At some point, he had suffered a broken rib, and also wore a full set of dentures.

An RCMP forensic artist also created a model, released publicly in 2005, of what the man may have looked like, based on his bone structure.

Click to expand...

Similar attempts to put a name to a face were made in 1998 when RCMP released a sketch based on a skull that was found by hikers on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River between Lloydminster and St. Walburg on Nov. 14, 1997. A search of the area yielded more remains - believed to be those of an aboriginal man or woman, aged 35 to 40 years, who had been dead about three to five years at the time of the discovery. Found near an Edmonton advertising sign that had also washed in on the swollen river, it's suspected the bones may have likewise originated from Alberta. Walker says the gender has remained undetermined because of the shape of the skull and scarcity of other bones. Although the shape initially pointed to the likelihood of a female, Walker determined it had been slightly misshapen by a cradle board, traditionally used by First Nations people to carry an infant. "The cradle board has flattened the back of the skull out; it gives the appearance of being female, when in actual fact that could be a male. It's got some features that are male-like."

Click to expand...

The so-called "lady in the well," found in Saskatoon in June 2006, is unusual among the older, unidentified human remains cases because of the degree of preservation, despite dating back a century.

"That was a special case," says Walker. Wrapped in a burlap sack, put in a barrel and dumped down a well, the remains sat in a mixture of gasoline and water that prevented bacteria from developing. Her soft body tissue was reduced to a waxy substance that helped with preservation to the point that even some body hair remained. The Caucasian woman, about 5-foot-1 and 25 to 35 years old, was dressed in a skirt, blouse and possibly a corset, with her clothing - some purchased and others hand-stitched - dated between 1910 and 1920. She also wore an 18-carat gold chain, likely originating from Europe or Montreal. "We're pretty sure she was murdered somewhere between 1920 and 1924," says Walker. She was found in the basement of a hotel that was abandoned, from 1919 to 1925, in what was formerly the railway town of Sutherland.

"I'm not even sure the woman was from here; we could make the case she was just passing through - got caught up with the wrong people. It's hard to say," says Walker.

While it's likely her killer has long since died as well, investigators would still like to help bring closure for some family who never knew the fate of a missing loved one.

Click to expand...

. May 12, 1984: On the bank of the North Saskatchewan River near North Battleford, the remains of a thinly built male, Caucasian are discovered. It's believed he would have died about two years earlier and was approximately 25 years of age at the time.

Click to expand...

Aug. 20, 1997: A human skull is found lodged in the side of a beaver dam on the Moose Jaw River. Likely exposed to the elements for 50 to 100 years, the skull was that of a 12-year-old girl, possibly Caucasian.

Click to expand...