After 21 years, OPP identify body recovered from Detroit River

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After years of investigation, a Detroit-area family finally has answers about what happened to their loved one 21 years ago.

And the Essex County OPP detachment, in collaboration with the criminal investigation branch, has solved a decades-long cold case by identifying the man whose remains were found along the Livingston Channel Shoreline, in the Detroit River just west of Amherstburg, in 2003.

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James Raymond Stewart was a 48-year-old Detroit resident reported missing in November 2002, the OPP criminal investigation branch announced in a news release Monday.

“So we’re just celebrating the fact that now we have closure,” family member Jann Grimes said in a video provided by the OPP, recorded during the family’s visit to Stewart’s Amherstburg grave site in November.

In the video, the family described Stewart, born on May 31, 1954, as a sensitive, quiet man who loved jazz music. Stewart had enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 18, serving for about three years before moving back to Detroit, where he worked in area restaurants.

“He won’t be a John Doe,” said Grimes, a first-cousin.

On May 29, 2003, officers recovered the unidentified body of a man, wearing dark-coloured pants and shirt, a winter coat, and mountain shoes.

Repeated attempts to identify the remains over the years were unsuccessful.

That was until February 2023, when the criminal investigation unit submitted DNA for investigative genetic genealogy testing — a technique that uses genetic information on record to identify suspects or victims in criminal cases.

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Several months later, a presumptive identification was made through genealogy support from the Toronto Police Service.

By September 2024, a family member’s DNA confirmed the unidentified man was Stewart.

According to the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, the cause of death could not be determined, but foul play was ruled out.

“After two decades, we were finally able to provide this family with answers about James, thanks to investigative genetic genealogy,” said Det. Insp. Randy Gaynor of the OPP criminal investigation branch in Monday’s news release.

“This investigative tool has proven to be invaluable, enabling law enforcement to solve even decades-old cases and offering hope to others facing similar circumstances.

“Its ability to connect distant relatives through DNA has transformed the landscape of historic homicide and unidentified human remains investigations.”

The OPP have been using genetic genealogy since 2019 in cases involving unidentified human remains, sexual assaults, homicides and serious violent crimes.

Since then, 23 cases have been submitted for investigative genetic genealogy analysis. Two cases were resolved over the past year.

The Detroit River investigation was assisted by Essex County OPP Crime Unit, OPP Forensic Identification Services, Victim Services, Toronto Police Service, the Office of the Chief Coroner, and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service.

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