The Edmonton Police Service says DNA has been used to identify a man who has been dead for decades.
Jose Valdez, 36, went missing from Edmonton in 1990.
In November 1997, Saskatchewan RCMP received a report of human remains found in the area of the North Saskatchewan River outside Lloydminster.
DNA testing at the time failed to identify the body, but the DNA was retained by the National DNA Databank of Canada (NDDC).
Investigators revisited the file in 2005 and then again in 2024.
“Our team worked with the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains and the National Missing Persons DNA Program, and the file was ultimately linked to a missing person investigation out of Edmonton,” Const. Brendan Sanford of Saskatchewan RCMP said in a news release on Thursday.
The Edmonton Police Service obtained voluntary DNA samples from living relatives of Valdez, and in February, the DNA was matched to the remains found in 1997, conclusively identifying them as Jose Valdez.
His death is believed to be non-criminal in nature.
“We sympathize with Jose’s family for the decades of ambiguous loss they have suffered, and while this is difficult news, we hope it also brings some measure of resolution,” Det. Glen Haneman with the EPS historical crimes section said.
“This is why we never stop investigating unsolved missing persons and unidentified human remains cases.”
EPS currently has 95 unsolved missing persons cases dating back to the 1970s.
Officers continue to explore ever-evolving DNA, genetic and other forensic technology in an attempt to solve the cases.
