Canadian police identify body recovered from Detroit River in 2008
After nearly two decades, Canadian police have identified the body of a man who was found floating in the Detroit River in 2008.
On Aug. 15, 2008, police recovered a body that was floating on the western shore of Fighting Island in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada.
At the time, investigators worked with Canadian and U.S. law enforcement agencies to compare missing person files and issued media releases to Canadian and Michigan news agencies, but were unable to identify the man.
In 2011, investigators developed a DNA profile of the man and submitted it to the Canadian Human Remains Index, a database that houses and compares DNA profiles from human remains found across Canada, according to police.
In 2025, LaSalle police compared the man's DNA with a U.S. DNA database. On Aug. 14, 2025, nearly 17 years to the date that the man's body was pulled from the Detroit River, LaSalle police say they received confirmation of a positive identification from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Forensic Science and Identification Service.
Investigators have notified the man's next of kin in the U.S. Police do not believe foul play was involved. Police will not be releasing additional information regarding the man.
"I am pleased our investigators were able to identify this man and close this investigation," LaSalle Police Chief Michael Pearce said in a statement. "After 17 years, the family has some closure, and John Doe has been given back his name."