Unidentified Cases: Requests for Public Assistance
Last updated on May 4, 2023The BC Coroners Service, in conjunction with municipal police or RCMP, seek your assistance to help identify human remains. Each case presented may include retouched facial photographs, photographs of tattoos and distinguishing physical features and facial reconstructions. These fabricated images may not always resemble the person as they actually appeared during life and should be considered an approximation of their appearance. With your help, we hope to bring some closure to families who are searching for someone.
There are approximately 200 unsolved investigations involving unidentified human remains in British Columbia, and the Coroners Service has access to over 1,300 missing persons investigation files in order to assist with identification, all within internal spatial databases with an aim to draw associations between UHRs and missing persons.
Should you have a query regarding any unidentified human remains investigations, please contact the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) at 1 877 660-5077 or BCCS.SIU@gov.bc.ca.
Canada's Missing Database
The Coroners Service also works with the RCMP and its National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains by providing information on B.C. unidentified remains for the Canada’s Missing database.
Only cases with enough information to develop a descriptive profile are included in the database. The database is managed by a national centre that assists law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners with missing persons and unidentified remains investigations across the country. The website features profiles of missing persons and unidentified remains that have been published at the request of the primary investigator from either a police, coroner or medical examiner agency. The lead investigator determines when and whether to publish a case.
Link to Database – Canada's Missing
Recent Cases
2020
2018
2016
- BC Coroners Service seeks public assistance to identify male found near West Vancouver in 1996 - Sep. 20, 2016
- (Case File 1996-0248-0466) shoes and other images
2015
- BC Coroners Service seeks public assistance to identify male found near Boston Bar in 1989 - Aug. 25, 2015
- (Case File 1989-0516-0009 images)
2010
- Body found Fraser River south arm (near western foot of Williams Road) - Apr. 8, 2010
- (Case File 2008-278-0587) facial reconstruction and other images
The disappearance of a loved one is one of the most painful experiences. Questions arise but finding answers can be difficult. Seeking Legal Declaration of Death for a Missing Person will help you understand under what circumstances you might wish to get a declaration of death.
UHR Interactive Viewer
The BC Coroners Service, in conjunction with municipal police or RCMP, seek your assistance to help identify human remains.
Click on the image below to view the Unidentified Human Remains (UHR) Interactive Viewer - a new mapping tool launched in March 2019.
Map of Feet Found in B.C.
The attached map (last updated in October 2021) shows the location of where feet were found in British Columbia linked to unidentified human remains. The dots on the map represent feet - those in Blue have been matched to a decedent, while those in Red still require a match to identify the deceased.
