Remains of man missing for over 3 decades finally identified

The remains of a man missing for 35 years have finally been identified.

Nineteen-year-old Robert William Johnston, of Prince Rupert, went missing in 1981, and despite extensive searches, he could not be located.

Human remains were located in 1995 by hikers on the south side of Mount Hays in Prince Rupert, but DNA technology at the time was not advanced enough to produce a viable profile.

A recent initiative by the BC Coroners Service’s Identification and Disaster Response Unit to profile difficult unidentified remains cases helped solve the case by producing a DNA profile, which was compared to familial profiles and matched to Johnston.

The BC Coroners Service continues to investigate this death.