Identified! Canada - Laurentian Hills, WhtMale 28-40, 334UMON, eyeglasses, Sep'01 - Name withheld

[Gina20]

Two things:

Combined caffeine and ephedrine ingestion improves run times of Canadian Forces Warrior Test - PubMed

Canadian Armed Forces personnel test their mettle in Mountain Man and Iron Warrior - Canadian Military Family Magazine

The Canadian Forces have done research into the use of caffeine and ephedrine for enhancing performance in its Canadian warrior test. The report above was published two years before Deep River John Doe was found in Algonquin Park. As you can see at the link, the same researcher published the results of further studies, including this one about finding the optimal dosage:

Reducing the dose of combined caffeine and ephedrine preserves the ergogenic effect - PubMed

There is an Iron Warrior competition held annually at CFB Petawawa, which is nearby. This competition is held in September. Participants begin training months in advance for this competition. I do not know if one was held in September 2001.

Is it reasonable to think the Deep River John Doe had participated in those studies as a researcher or subject, or that he had arrived in the area to do research or take part in the competition? If any of the above, why wasn't he reported missing?

 

[Gina20]

Here's a pharmacopeia of commonly-used supplements by the U.S. military. It's interesting if you search within the document using the term "weight loss" without quotation marks.

Other Dietary Supplements for Military Personnel - Use of Dietary Supplements by Military Personnel - NCBI Bookshelf

 

[Gina20]

FDA urged to ban ephedrine from dietary supplements

About Ephedrine in 2001.

 

[Gina20]

A Family’s Guide to the National Missing Persons DNA Program | Royal Canadian Mounted Police

If anyone is missing a family member in Canada, please consider registering your DNA. I am sure other countries also have registries. I don't know if information is exchanged between countries.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

The Doe network page was recently updated: 334UMON
"Biogeographic Ancestry testing determined he was of European ancestry."

This is the first I have found here about any ancestry testing. Did I miss something? This sounds more like genetic than isotope testing but it's not clear. Maybe I missed it, but I had not seen either mentioned before.

rsbm
There is an Iron Warrior competition held annually at CFB Petawawa, which is nearby. This competition is held in September. Participants begin training months in advance for this competition. I do not know if one was held in September 2001.

Is it reasonable to think the Deep River John Doe had participated in those studies as a researcher or subject, or that he had arrived in the area to do research or take part in the competition? If any of the above, why wasn't he reported missing?

That's an interesting hypothesis. Since he was wearing jeans I doubt he was in the middle of any kind of athletic training despite being found with running shoes. Was he there for an event or study and was not actually training at the time of his demise? perhaps.

 

[dotr]

The Doe network page was recently updated: 334UMON
"Biogeographic Ancestry testing determined he was of European ancestry."

This is the first I have found here about any ancestry testing. Did I miss something? This sounds more like genetic than isotope testing but it's not clear. Maybe I missed it, but I had not seen either mentioned before.



That's an interesting hypothesis. Since he was wearing jeans I doubt he was in the middle of any kind of athletic training despite being found with running shoes. Was he there for an event or study and was not actually training at the time of his demise? perhaps.

Thanks for the updated link!
334UMON

Artist's rendering in 2018; Sketch of victim by Lynn Cedarstaff

Date of Discovery: September 5, 2001
Location of Discovery: Deep River, Ontario
Estimated Date of Death: Two to three days prior.
State of Remains: Recognizable
Cause of Death: Heart failure from mixing caffeine and ephedrine

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 28-40 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5'3" to 5'4"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Appendix present, circumcised. Good dental hygiene, no tattoos or scars.

Identifiers
Dentals: Yes
Fingerprints: Yes
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Pepe brand size 30 button fly blue jeans, size medium black Fundamentals shirt, long-sleeved dark blue cotton shirt, black cotton Jockey underwear, black Replay size small running shoes, black leather Calvin Klein belt, and grey socks.
Jewelry: Wore a silver ring with an aquamarine stone on his right little finger and a blue Levi's pocket watch with a built in compass.
Additional Personal Items: Copper Koh Sakai glasses with reflective lens frame model KS9365 (prescription for near-sightedness), a blue nylon Eagle Creek backpack containing a candle, lantern, mini flashlight and a water container, protein bars from a GNC store, and had $60 cash (no wallet).

Circumstances of Discovery
This male was found deceased on a bench in an outhouse on a cross country ski trail in the Laurentian Hills, Deep River, west of Ottawa. He was well-tanned, but recently sunburned on his face. Biogeographic Ancestry testing determined he was of European ancestry. He may have travelled throughout Canada, the US, and to Costa Rica.

 

[Gina20]

The Doe network page was recently updated: 334UMON
"Biogeographic Ancestry testing determined he was of European ancestry."

This is the first I have found here about any ancestry testing. Did I miss something? This sounds more like genetic than isotope testing but it's not clear. Maybe I missed it, but I had not seen either mentioned before.



That's an interesting hypothesis. Since he was wearing jeans I doubt he was in the middle of any kind of athletic training despite being found with running shoes. Was he there for an event or study and was not actually training at the time of his demise? perhaps.

Let's hope they entered his DNA on GEDmatch. This would have more of a chance of success if he is from North America.

I believe that participants in those competitions arrive early, and it is quite likely they would explore the area before the competition.

Here's a photo of the gear involved in this competition:

Peterborough Reservist wins Day 1 of Iron Warrior at CFB Petawawa

Weighted rucksack, camo pants, T-shirt, combat boots. Not your typical race, or race gear.

 

[Gina20]

Here's a refresher on the size of Algonquin Park. It is huge.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) | Algonquin Provincial Park | The Friends of Algonquin Park

 

[Gina20]

Here's a refresher on the size of Algonquin Park. It is huge.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) | Algonquin Provincial Park | The Friends of Algonquin Park

If he was camping in the park and left gear behind, it might never be found. No vehicle, no hotels reporting a guest who failed to check out? Did he arrive by water from the Quebec side of the Ottawa River?

Here's the DR ski chalet location.

Google Maps

 

[Gina20]

Excuse my multiple posts. I went back to this article and ended up with more questions and confusion.

Death in woods still a mystery 18 months later

How did the police know this man had walked for 1.5 hours from Highway 17 to the outhouse? Was he hitchhiking and someone dropped him off down the road? Or did they find a vehicle broken down on the highway? Was the sunburn a 90-minute one? Grasping at straws here.

He camped in an outhouse with an emergency blanket? I'm assuming it was one of those silver metallic ones. Did he not have a coat, in the fall in northern Ontario?

Why would he walk past the town of Deep River and onto the trail that the police say almost no one knew about? If his vehicle had broken down, wouldn't he seek help? Wouldn't his belongings be found in the vehicle?Why would they think he might have left his luggage in a city?

Other:

FYI, Pepe Jeans brand was popular in Latin America from the 1990s on.

Business: Latin America–a tasty bite for denim brands

As for the Koh Sakai eyeglasses mentioned elsewhere, they are a Japanese brand. The article above mentioned Brazil. Since there is a sizeable Japanese population in Brazil could this man be a Brazilian of European ancestry?

If he was a hitchhiker, he must have said something to someone. Did that person, if there was one, confuse his accent for French, if he had one?

It's the unexplained 90-minute walk that has sent me down this rabbit hole.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Let's hope they entered his DNA on GEDmatch. This would have more of a chance of success if he is from North America.

I believe that participants in those competitions arrive early, and it is quite likely they would explore the area before the competition.

Here's a photo of the gear involved in this competition:

Peterborough Reservist wins Day 1 of Iron Warrior at CFB Petawawa

Weighted rucksack, camo pants, T-shirt, combat boots. Not your typical race, or race gear.

OK, I'm seeing your theory as more possible now. This event is not like a typical triathlon. I'd think if he was a participant and affiliated with Canadian military he would have been missed and ID'd right away. But if he was in some way connected to the research, or maybe just knew about it and wanted to try that out of curiosity, it's a possibility. I have considered the scenario of a deliberate suicide by caffeine and ephedrine to be a really bizarre and unusual choice, but if it was instead an accident resulting from combining too much caffeine and ephedrine with over-exertion, that's a bit more believable.

Here's a link to the full paper you cited earlier
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s004210050355.pdf

The authors noted 4 of their 12 participants had to stop due to nausea. "We presume that it was the interaction of the high-intensity exercise with the caff€eine and ephedrine which caused the nausea since these subjects were able to complete all the other trials uneventfully."

 

[Gina20]

Yes, I think an accidental overdose is likely, knowing that there was research being done into combining these substances for performance enhancement and dosages in this specific type of competition, and his proximity to a competition (that ended up being cancelled in that 9/11 year). There were 33 deaths in U.S. military members using ephedrine, and subsequent ephedrine bans. At the time, "go" drugs issued to combat pilots included ephedrine, too.

I think he may have gone to observe the competition. His small stature may have made the combined dosage tricky. Obviously it did not end well for him.

I still would like to see him identified.

 

[Gina20]

OK, I'm seeing your theory as more possible now. This event is not like a typical triathlon. I'd think if he was a participant and affiliated with Canadian military he would have been missed and ID'd right away. But if he was in some way connected to the research, or maybe just knew about it and wanted to try that out of curiosity, it's a possibility. I have considered the scenario of a deliberate suicide by caffeine and ephedrine to be a really bizarre and unusual choice, but if it was instead an accident resulting from combining too much caffeine and ephedrine with over-exertion, that's a bit more believable.

Here's a link to the full paper you cited earlier
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s004210050355.pdf

The authors noted 4 of their 12 participants had to stop due to nausea. "We presume that it was the interaction of the high-intensity exercise with the caff€eine and ephedrine which caused the nausea since these subjects were able to complete all the other trials uneventfully."

I found this very interesting information today, about significant changes made to the Iron Warrior competition in 2020:

Ask the Expert: Making military fitness challenges safer

The risk of injuries, some permanent, has been acknowledged. Weight limits were reduced, race distances reduced, and running shoes allowed.

Women compete, and women could be similar in height and stature to Deep River Man.

The race alone carried risks for participants. Attempting it as an amateur with performance-enhancing drugs and without peak fitness? Very dangerous, especially at the upper limit of his age range.

 

[annemc2]

I wonder if there was someone that registered and didn't show up. It's weird to think that the internet wasn't as all-encompassing back in 2001 as it is now. Here are some recent Petawawa results just as an example.

Sportstats | Results

As mentioned above, he would have likely been ID'd pretty fast if he had been military and it's very interesting to think that he might have been scouting out the course for other reasons (personal or professional). Good job, guys!

 

[Gina20]

At one point, this man's eyes were said to have been blue. However, eyes change color after death due to corneal opacity, much like how infants' eyes appear blue at birth. Corneal opacity is one metric used to determine how long a person has been deceased. Were his eyes really blue? Speaking of which, did he have any eye conditions, or sign of eye surgery? What was his eyeglass prescription? Any specific corrective lenses -- astigmatism, special tinting, etc?

I noticed some frontal bossing, although I don't know if this would have become more pronounced than it appeared before he died. This characteristic is something I always notice in people.

I think it was a mistake to call him "Bret Stone", his nickname for a while. That sounds very WASPy. What if he wasn't?

I've also been down another rabbit hole of famous fugitives. Of course I found someone who looks like him, and who disappeared before this man was found, a man with a taste for designer eyeglasses. I can't find any information about his height or weight, oddly enough. Suffice it to say, I hope this man's DNA was submitted to Interpol at some point.

 

[Gina20]

Thanks for the updated link!
334UMON

Artist's rendering in 2018; Sketch of victim by Lynn Cedarstaff

Date of Discovery: September 5, 2001
Location of Discovery: Deep River, Ontario
Estimated Date of Death: Two to three days prior.
State of Remains: Recognizable
Cause of Death: Heart failure from mixing caffeine and ephedrine

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 28-40 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5'3" to 5'4"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Appendix present, circumcised. Good dental hygiene, no tattoos or scars.

Identifiers
Dentals: Yes
Fingerprints: Yes
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Pepe brand size 30 button fly blue jeans, size medium black Fundamentals shirt, long-sleeved dark blue cotton shirt, black cotton Jockey underwear, black Replay size small running shoes, black leather Calvin Klein belt, and grey socks.
Jewelry: Wore a silver ring with an aquamarine stone on his right little finger and a blue Levi's pocket watch with a built in compass.
Additional Personal Items: Copper Koh Sakai glasses with reflective lens frame model KS9365 (prescription for near-sightedness), a blue nylon Eagle Creek backpack containing a candle, lantern, mini flashlight and a water container, protein bars from a GNC store, and had $60 cash (no wallet).

Circumstances of Discovery
This male was found deceased on a bench in an outhouse on a cross country ski trail in the Laurentian Hills, Deep River, west of Ottawa. He was well-tanned, but recently sunburned on his face. Biogeographic Ancestry testing determined he was of European ancestry. He may have travelled throughout Canada, the US, and to Costa Rica.

It's kind of strange that he had biogeographic ancestry testing but his DNA is unknown.

The Use of Forensic DNA Phenotyping in Predicting Appearance and Biogeographic Ancestry

They have his DNA. They used it to do biogeographic ancestry testing. His DNA therefore is not unknown, but undisclosed. Why wouldn't they post his DNA raw data and do a genetic genealogy search? The services of such experts comes at a cost.

The connection to Costa Rica and his lack of ID, the dental work, the designer eyeglasses and evidence of hotels that are not youth hostels made me think that this random traveller was a man of means. Strangely enough, organized crime rings have been operating in Costa Rica since before the 2000s, sometimes operating legitimate businesses like fruit farms as a cover to smuggle drugs. You might even say the presence of condoms points in this direction.

The person he resembles IMO has been missing since the early 1990s when he fled from criminal investigators in Europe. He was believed to have sought out plastic surgery abroad to alter his appearance. Since then, he has grown into a legend, but is the legend alive? I think crime families would benefit from keeping him "alive" in order to keep the business going. If this is him, he may have been cut off from overseas funds due to the intensity of the scrutiny. Why would he end up in Deep River? Not a clue. And the condoms could just be what they are.

 

[Gina20]

Here is one of the last official stories about the unidentified Deep River Man:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/opp-help-id-body-deep-river-1.3360989

Such a juxtaposition: designer eyeglasses, brand-name jeans, matches from the upscale W Hotel chain, and then matches from the decidedly downtown Barclay Hotel in Vancouver, and well-worn running shoes. Having matches doesn't mean he stayed in those hotels. Did he smoke? His teeth showed no stains, from what could be seen. No further reference to the condoms.

He had no tattoos.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/opp-help-id-body-deep-river-1.3360989

 

[Gina20]

A few more updates. The Sutton Place Hotel closed in 2012 for condominiumization. It was known for hosting celebrities attending the Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF 2001 was held from September 6 to 15.

TIFF 2001 interrupted by U.S. catastrophe

When Sutton Place on Bay St. was the place to be

In all the chaos that ensued, would anyone have noticed an absent hotel guest or festival attendee?

 

[Gina20]

Much closer to Deep River, this man went missing on January 12, 2001 in Montreal and has since been declared dead. His height doesn't match; he was 5'7" tall. He weighed about 154 pounds. He wore glasses.

Frédérick Cormier Service de police de la Ville de Montréal - SPVM

 

[Justice Warrior]

Much closer to Deep River, this man went missing on January 12, 2001 in Montreal and has since been declared dead. His height doesn't match; he was 5'7" tall. He weighed about 154 pounds. He wore glasses.

Frédérick Cormier Service de police de la Ville de Montréal - SPVM

Although the sketch does resemble FC, the unidentified man didn't have any tattoos..