Police in Metro Vancouver are asking for the public's help solving a decades-old mystery.
A man found dead near the Port Coquitlam Cemetery back in July 1998 remains unidentified, despite a composite drawing, a DNA profile and the work of police and forensic experts.
The deceased's body was found by a passerby who was walking a dog in a heavily wooded area on Oxford Street. A forensic anthropologists estimated he had been dead at least two years by that time, and possibly for a whole decade.
"The mystery man's apparent poor health indicates he may have been homeless or leading a transient lifestyle and the RCMP would like to get him back to his family," Coquitlam RCMP said in a news release.
The man is believed to have been between 35 and 50 years old when he died, and is described as between 5'6" and 6' tall. He had a mixed white and First Nations ancestry.
Police said he had visible tooth decay, and was missing an upper front tooth that had probably been removed at least a year before he died, and suffered from Osgood Schlatter disease, a condition that's commonly seen in young people who play physically demanding sports, such as soccer or hockey.
He also had a healed broken nose that may have appeared slightly crooked.
Anyone who believes they may have information on the mystery man's identity is asked to contact the Coquitlam RCMP detachment's non-emergency line.
