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The face of a dead man found in Burnaby has been reconstructed

A unique partnership between the RCMP and New York Academy of Art aims to help identify remains and bring closure to families.

Burnaby RCMP and the BC Coroners Service are looking for help identifying the remains of a man found in a forested area in North Burnaby last March.

Thanks to a new partnership between the RCMP and the New York Academy of Art, the face of the man has been reconstructed in a forensic sculpture.

The man is estimated to have gone missing around March 2013 and “may have been despondent at the time,” according to information posted on the RCMP’s Canada’s Missing webpage, a public online database of missing persons and unidentified remains.

The man found in Burnaby was between 40 and 60 years old and between five feet and five-foot-seven.  

He had a straight, black ponytail at the time of his death.

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This jacket was found among the man's effects when his remains were discovered. - Canada's Missing

Canada’s Missing also features photos of the man’s personal effects: a ball cap, watch, eye glasses, runners and a backpack.

The site also describes his belt, wallet, socks, gloves, scarf, shirt and sweater.

Anyone with information about the man, is asked to contact Burnaby RCMP at 604-646-9999 (cite case number 2019-10455) or the BC Coroners Service at 1-877-660-5077 (cite case number 2019-3006-0058).

To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477) or www.solvecrime.ca.

Unique partnership

From January 6 to 10, the New York Academy of Art hosted a forensic sculpture workshop using 3D-printed versions of 15 real skulls supplied by the RCMP, according to an RCMP press release earlier this month.

The skulls had been scanned by National Research Council technicians, who then created 3D printed versions of the skulls and supplied those to the Academy students to work with, according to the statement.

Photos of the 15 reconstructed faces, including that of the man found in Burnaby, have now been posted on the Canada’s Missing website in hopes of generating tips from the public that could help identify them and provide closure to their families.