B.C. coroners unit identifies body of young man missing for almost 40 years

VANCOUVER – Almost 40 years after a man’s body was found in Vancouver, he’s been identified as a young man whose family reported him missing in 1975.

The Identification and Disaster Response Unit within the BC Coroners Service managed to piece together the cold-case clues and identify the man as 22-year-old Alexander Gammie.

He was reported missing in Kamloops, B.C., in May 1975 and his body was found shortly after that in Vancouver, but despite extensive efforts by police and the coroner he wasn’t identified.

The unit’s Bill Inkster says it didn’t take long to identify Gammie from his dental records once they took in the file.

Inkster says solving cases like these are rare, but they were pleased to be able to settle the mystery for the family.

He says for many of the families he’s worked with in such situations there is often shock and then great relief.