Hamilton police identify remains of man missing 30 years

(Updated)

DNA testing has helped police crack a cold case involving a Hamilton man who disappeared 30 years ago.

For decades David Nixon’s body sat in an unmarked grave in Toronto. He was 23-years old when he went missing in 1984. A body was pulled out of Lake Ontario about a month later but it wasn’t until recently that those remains were identified as his.

Nixon was last seen by his uncle at the corner of King and James Streets in Hamilton on July 6th, 1984. The investigation into his disappearance extended to police agencies across Canada and the United States.

A body was found in Lake Ontario near Bluffers Park in Toronto in August of the same year, but it was never identified at the time, and the description didn’t match Nixon’s. But police say with DNA from family members and advancements in the testing, they were now able to identify the remains as Nixon’s. His family says this confirmation of his death has raised more questions and they are still looking for answers.

Janis Nixon, David’s sister: “Dave lived life to the fullest but his life can to an unfortunate end during the summer of 1984 at the tender age of 23. It’s a travesty to say the past 30 years have been hard on our family especially our mother would be an understatement.  We strongly believe that if foul play was involved there are people out there who have information and know what happened to our brother 30 years ago, we are appealing to them to come forward.”

His family is now in the process of bringing his remains home to Hamilton.

Hamilton police are still investigating his death. They say he had no criminal background and admit that figuring out what happened to Nixon will likely be difficult, considering his death happened so many years ago.