'He won't be a John Doe anymore': OPP use new DNA testing to solve 21-year-old cold case

OPP have used new DNA technology to solve a 21-year-old cold case near Amherstburg, Ont. The new testing has led to the identification of the remains of a man found in 2003.

Authorities now say it was James Raymond Stewart, 48, of Michigan, who was discovered on May 29 in the Livingston Channel of the Detroit River.

Although authorities determined at the time the death was not suspicious and foul play not suspected, they have been working since to try to identify the body without any success.

The Livingstone Channel near Amherstburg, Ont. where Stewart's remains were found. (Source: Google Maps)

New DNA testing

In February 2023, the Criminal Investigation Branch of the OPP submitted Stewart’s DNA to a lab for a new kind of testing, called “investigative genetic genealogy (IGG).”

That resulted in what they call a “presumptive ID”, thanks to “genealogy support” from the Toronto Police Service, according to the OPP news release.

In September 2024, a member of the Stewart family submitted their DNA for comparison, which matched James’.

Authorities were unable to determine the cause of death, but the identification did bring “closure” for the Stewart family.

James Stewart. (Source: OPP)

Stewart family grateful

Three months later – and 21 years after he was reported missing – the OPP took the Stewart family to where James is buried in Amherstburg.

“We're grateful to all of you, Ontario police in this program, because without this we still wouldn't have, even with Jan’s DNA, we wouldn't have come up with this,” Stewart’s sister said in an OPP video news release.

In the video, Stewart is described as a sensitive and quiet man who loved jazz music and served in the United States Navy in the 1970s.

In the years before his death, Stewart worked in restaurants in Detroit, according to his family.

“It's closure for us because we had no idea, and both our parents died and had no idea,” she said.

“We're just celebrating the fact that now we have closure. Now we know where he is, he won’t be John Doe anymore.”