A joint investigation from the Yukon Coroner’s Service and the RCMP’s Historic Case Unit has led to the identification of human remains found in Lake Laberge in 2016.
The deceased man has now been identified as Nathan Eugene Hine. Hine would have been 32-years-old at the time his body was found. He was originally from Alberta but had no fixed address.
Identifying the man was a long process.
Police were initially called to Lake Laberge on May 9, 2016 after a member of the public reported that a body had washed ashore. Police did not find any identification on the man’s body and a search of the area by air, ground and water did not yield any clues.
According to the RCMP, the man’s remains were sent to Vancouver for an autopsy which did not provide a conclusive cause of death or offer any clues pointing towards the man’s identity. Police tried to identify the man using his DNA profile, fingerprints and missing person reports both nationally and internationally, but they say that also yielded no results.
The case was taken up by the Yukon RCMP’s Historical Cases Unit (HCU), which was newly formed at that time in 2019. The HCU engaged Othram Inc. a company that runs a private laboratory in Texas to conduct an advanced forensic DNA analysis.
Further investigation led to some of Hine’s relatives in Saskatchewan. They confirmed they had a missing family member and on June 1 the RCMP and the coroner’s service were able to confirm Hine’s identity using a DNA comparison.
The Historic Case Unit’s investigation into Hine’s death is not ending with the discovery of his identity. Investigators have confirmed that Hine was in the Yukon from May to November 2015. Anyone who knew or had contact with him during that time is asked to call or email the RCMP Historic Case tip line, (867) 667-5588 or MDIV_HCU@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
“Yukon Coroner’s Service and the RCMP would like to thank the local investigators who assisted on this file since May of 2016, the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains, Othram Inc., and the many family members who assisted us in our investigation,” An RCMP statement reads.
“Our collaboration has been able to provide long-awaited answers and information to Mr. Hine’s family and the Whitehorse community.”
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com