The Medical Examiner’s office has stated that the unidentified individual is believed to have passed away somewhere between six months and five years prior to the discovery of the body. Despite their efforts, investigators were unable to link the remains to any missing persons cases during that period.
According to the sheriff’s office, even after 14 years, no new leads were generated when a DNA profile of Stack’s remains was uploaded to the CODIS database in 2008.
Investigators made fresh attempts in April 2022 to identify the remains. They obtained a new DNA sample and compared it to unsolved cases in the Lake Ontario region in both the United States and Canada.
In February, they matched the sample to DNA collected from Stack’s family members. Stack’s family members had reported him missing around December 4, 1990, in Niagara Falls State Park.
Stack was thought to have gone over the falls. Investigators believe that his remains would have traveled around 15 miles to the mouth of the river, and then over 130 miles across Lake Ontario, over a span of one year and four months, before being found.
The Oswego County Sheriff’s Office recently notified Stack’s family in person about the identification, expressing gratitude to the many individuals who have devoted their efforts to the case over the years.
The sheriff’s office expressed gratitude for the assistance provided in obtaining additional DNA samples, stating that it played a crucial role in bringing closure to this case. Furthermore, they expressed optimism that the utilization of DNA evidence will aid in the resolution of another unidentified remains case dating back to 1983.
