Human Remains Found in Canadian Park Identified as Man Last Seen 50 Years Ago

A family finally has some closure as the human remains of their loved one have been identified by Canadian authorities thanks to advances in forensic technology. 

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) announced on Thursday, Sept. 4, that the remains, which were first discovered in 1980 in Algonquin Park in Ontario, belonged to Eric “Ricky” Singer, authorities said in a news release. Singer was 22 years at the time of his disappearance in 1973.

“On September 19, 2023, I was contacted by an unidentified caller,” Ruth Singer, one of Eric’s sisters, said in the news release. “Feeling strongly guided to take the call, the caller introduced himself as a detective from the OPP. He said he had some difficult news for me and asked whether I had time to listen.”

She added, “Immediately, my tears began to fall and I knew that they had found him.”

According to the OPP, a hiker discovered the remains underneath the forest floor of the park after veering off a trail in April 1980. At the time, search teams eventually uncovered a boot, a leather wallet, clothing, a sleeping bag and additional remains.

Experts determined that the victim was a young white male somewhere between the ages of 18 and 21, and that his possible time of death was between July 1971 and spring 1978. They did not find any signs of foul play.

Despite public appeals, the mystery surrounding the unidentified victim continued. 

Then, on March 23, 1995, the OPP said, a jawbone was discovered near the same trail where the earlier human remains had been found. Authorities confirmed that both the jawbone and the remains belonged to the same person, but efforts to further identity the individual remained unsuccessful. 

In 2017, the OPP shared on social media a 3-D clay reconstruction of what the victim’s face might have looked like. Five years later, authorities submitted the victim’s DNA to the DNA Doe Project for IGG (investigative genetic genealogy) analysis —  which, according to police, combines traditional genealogy with new DNA-based comparisons.

After a presumptive identification was made in 2023, authorities tracked down Singer’s sisters Ruth and Merry, who then submitted their DNA samples. 

The remains were officially confirmed as Eric Singer’s on Feb. 14 of this year, the OPP said. 

“October 3, 1973, was the last time I saw him. Ricky had been exploring Canadian options after dropping out of college in 1970 and receiving his draft card for Vietnam,” Merry said of her brother in a press statement. “He did not get drafted, but he continued to spend time in Canada over the next few years. Suddenly, he disappeared on his bike with a backpack and we never heard from him again.”

According to authorities, Singer returned home to Cleveland to live with his parents in the summer of 1973 after spending time abroad, only to vanish that fall. The family filed a missing persons report and hired a private investigator afterward but did not get answers to his whereabouts.

Singer’s parents died before they knew what happened to their son.

The OPP said in its news release that Ruth and Merry recently visited the area in Algonquin Park where their brother spent his last days. They also met with the officials involved in his identification. 

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“Not only did our family find some peace in learning that our brother was found, but our wonderful new friends at the OPP were also able to close this case,” Merry said in the news release.

“This dedicated team, while standing on the shoulders of so many who had worked on the case over the past 50 years, was able to meet, in person, the family to whom they’d given this miraculous gift,” she added. “That’s good day at the office.”