Peterborough police will soon be providing information about a macabre cold case from 36 years ago involving a victim only known as “The Otonabee River Man.”
On July 10, 1988, members of a recreational dive club who were diving in the Otonabee River near Lock and McKellar streets made a gruesome discovery: a disembodied human head. The divers found the human head on the river bottom around 130 feet from shore.
Although the discovery was followed by an extensive air and underwater search by police, the rest of the victim’s body was never recovered.
Because of evidence that the head had been dismembered, police concluded the victim was murdered.
However, they were unable to identify the victim, and it was unknown when or where the victim was killed or how long his head had been in the river before it was found.
The man was believed to be between 40 and 74 years old. He was missing some lower molars from well before his death, and there was no evidence of dental care. He had staining on his remaining teeth that indicated he was a smoker. He may have been bald or partially bald at the time of his death, and possibly had a beard because of a small amount of facial hair. His hair and beard may have been dark coloured.
Because there were no reports of missing men in Peterborough at the time the remains were found, police suspect the head may have been brought to the area from elsewhere.
Peterborough police will be holding a media conference at the Water street police station on Wednesday morning (December 11) to provide what they call “a significant update” about the case.
Since a DNA profile has been on file with the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, it’s possible police will announce the victim has finally been identified. However, they have provided no details about the nature of the announcement.
