It's a long shot, but authorities are reopening the investigation of a man whose body was found on the eastern shoreline of Lake Superior nearly two decades ago.
The long shot is that he may have come from the lake's western shore.
Wawa, Ontario, police Sgt. Duane Wenmann said one theory of the case is that the deceased could be a U.S. citizen from this side of Lake Superior whose body was pushed into Canadian waters by the prevailing winds.
The man, whose body was found within the Michipicoten Harbor near the town of 3,000 residents on Oct. 17, 1991, is believed to have been about 40 years old. He was about 5 foot 8, 155 to 190 pounds. He had a small circular scar in the center of his back, a large scar on his left instep and ankle. X-rays of the foot revealed a metal plate and pins to repair a break. He had a hernia scar in the right groin area. His hair and eye color were undetermined because of decomposition.
Duluth police have no records of anyone going missing and not being found in 1991.
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Wenmann said a coroner determined the body most likely had been in the water between 30 and 90 days. The only article of clothing on the body was a black sock on one foot. There was no trauma to the body, but a looped yellow nylon rope was tied around his waist.
"Two equal lengths of rope approximately 4 feet long extended away from the knot at the waist,'' Wenmann said. "One possible theory was the extended lengths were a loop which ran through an object such as a cinder block, eventually frayed and broke, allowing the body to surface."
Wenmann said it's also possible the death was a suicide. The case is being reopened because of advances in technology and communications that make more information available to the public, including the existence of many missing-person Web sites.
Information about the Wawa case can be found at www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase1901.html .
"Our leads on the Ontario [Canadian] side have been exhausted, and we never pursued the USA connection in any significant way,'' Wenmann said. "One more theory is that this fellow could have been some sort of stowaway that had been cast overboard by the crew of some sort of vessel.''
Anyone with
information is asked to contact the Wawa Police Service at (705) 856-0904
or e-mail Wenmann at duane.wenmann@ontario.ca .
