Banff RCMP seeks public assistance in identifying human remains found more than 20 years ago | The Canadian News

In the nearly 24 years since human remains were found on a mountain in Banff National Park, RCMP says an identification has still not been made.

According to police, on July 11, 1998, a tour guide made the gruesome discovery while he was at the back of Swaelberg, an area he was well acquainted with.

“(The tour guide) has done that route a lot already,” said Cpl. Natalie Rice with the Banff RCMP release, “probably three or four times before she discovered the bones.”

Rice said it was a human skull that was found. The bottom of the jaw was missing, but some upper teeth were still present.

Along with the leftovers, several items were also located nearby. It included a key belonging to a Chrysler vehicle, a War Amps label, a black leather wallet with the word “amity” written in gold letters and photos.

The vehicle to which the key belonged was never found.

A report from the medical examiner said the man was presumably 19 to 35 years old, but probably closer to 25. He was also presumed dead for several years before the discovery.

Two sketches of the man were released – one in 2001 and the other in 2018. Searches through the National DNA database and missing person files yielded no results.

Pamela Mayne Correia, forensic anthropologist at the University of Alberta, worked on the case in 2015. She said it is not uncommon for the man or any of his potential family to be identified yet.

“People are losing track of people and you do not realize you have not seen them for 10 years,” Mayne Correia said. “Then you see it on the news … and you go, ‘Oh, gosh, I’ve not seen him in centuries … I know who it is.’

“It’s kind of how it helps to make everyone think of those people they’ve not seen in their lives for a while.”

RCMP asks anyone who has information about the man’s identity to contact them, their local police department or Crime Stoppers.