CANADA Canada - QC, Montréal, WhtMale, 40-60, 3447UMQC, german, "Bruno Slezak Josef", Feb 1995

[Giuc0]

Doe Network file (updated on Aug 23th 2020): 3447UMQC


3447UMQC - Unidentified Male

Date of Discovery: February 2, 1995
Location of Discovery: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Estimated Date of Death: Unknown
State of Remains: Unknown
Cause of Death: Unknown

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 40-60 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: 5'4" to 5'5"
Weight: 77 lbs.
Hair Color: Grey
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Curly hair. Visible missing teeth. Slender build. White beard and moustache. Fair skin tone.

Identifiers
Dentals:Yes
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Green pants, blue checked pattern shirt, blue and grey sweater with grey and red patterns, dark leather belt, grey wool socks, black right shoe only.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery
On February 2, 1995, the body of an adult male believed to be between the ages of 40-60 was found in an apartment on Ekers Avenue in Montreal, Quebec. He was homeless and may have been known as Bruno. He had no ID, only a paper in his personal belongings on which was inscribed "Bruno Slezak Josef". The man reportedly told neighbors that he arrived in Canada in 1950. He has a wife and a daughter who lives in Germany.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains
Agency Contact Person: Unknown
Agency Phone Number: Unknown
Agency E-Mail: [email protected]
Agency Case Number: 2015011640

Agency Name: Service de police de la Ville de Montréal
Agency Contact Person: Unknown
Agency Phone Number: 514-393-1133
Agency E-Mail: Unknown
Agency Case Number: 184-31-950202-039

NCIC Case Number:
NamUs Case Number:
Former Hot Case Number:

Information Source(s)
NCMPUR
SPVM

Admin Notes
Added:08/23/20; Last Updated:08/23/20

 

[Giuc0]

Montreal Police, page in French: Corps non identifiés - Service de police de la Ville de Montréal - SPVM


Corps non identifié
Numéro de dossier : 31-950202-039
Le 2 février 1995, un homme a été retrouvé mort dans un logement. Il s’agit d’un itinérant qui portait le nom de Bruno. Celui-ci n’avait aucune pièce d’identité. Seul un papier où il était inscrit « Bruno Slezak Josef » fut retrouvé dans ses effets personnels. L'homme aurait dit a des voisins qu'il est arrivé au Canada en 1950. Il aurait une femme et une fille qui vivent en Allemagne



Découvert le 2 février 1995
Sexe Masculin
Teint Pâle/clair
Corpulence Moyenne
Cheveux Gris
Description des cheveux Frisés
Poids 35 kg
Taille 163 cm / 5'-4"
Âge estimé 40 - 60
Numéro de dossier 31-950202-039
Information supplémentaire
dents manquantes, porte barbe et moustache blanche

Endroit où le corps a été retrouvé
Images


Vêtements
Genre de vêtement Chandail
Couleur de vêtement Bleu, Gris
Tissu Laine
Note chandail avec motifs gris et rouge
Genre de vêtement Souliers
Couleur de vêtement Noir
Genre de vêtement Chemise
Couleur de vêtement Bleu
Note chemise à carreaux
Genre de vêtement Pantalon
Couleur de vêtement Vert
Genre de vêtement Ceinture
Tissu Cuir
Note ceinture de couleur foncé
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514 393-1133

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[Giuc0]

Ok, my educated guess.

The name mentionned on the paper is clearly of Germanic origin!

I also think that based on his being extremely thin and his missing teeth that he was in extreme state of denutrition, which can impair cognition and can be also linked to mental illness, including substance abuse.
I wish we knew what toxicology results were!

 

[Giuc0]

Potential match which I'm not too happy about, but it's the closest one I could find in DN and a reliable website about missing persons in Italy, Chi l'ha Visto.

DN: The Doe Network: Case File 408DMITA

Chi l'ha Visto: Chi l'ha Visto - Misteri - Josef Unterhuber - La scheda


Pros is that MP is fond of traveling and of Germanic origins, traveled in Europe and America so could had crossed Canadian border. Time lapse doesn't bother me too much as he was homeless, which fits about finding MP's passport in a US homeless shelter. "Josef" is MP's name we know, but having more than one given name and using only one doesn't bother me too much.
Cons is the city is in Italy but with two official languages, Italian and German; MP is not known to be married nor having children and UID's fractures are clearly unknown (but in the realm of possibilities because of extreme malnutrition).

Canadian MPs are not too good a match because they lack information for matching with UID.

 

[Ark]

So i went with the "came to Canada in 1950" route. Slezak is clearly a last name rather than a middle name. I feel Josef was a first name with Bruno either a middle name or nickname.

On Ancestry, there is a Josef Slezak who landed in New York in 1950 (by himself, no wife or child). He was 25 at the time, meaning he would be 10 years over the top estimate of our UID, but I don't think that's out of the question. He left from Bremerhaven in Germany, which is the German connection, and I actually like the fact that he was 25 when he came to New York (And then across to Canada, which is my theory), because that makes it more likely that he had a wife and a child back in Germany.

So, wild speculative theory based on this record, he came to Canada to try to make it, make some money for his wife and kid to join him. Didn't work out, became homeless, probably sadly lost contact with the family over the years.

I can't find any record of this Josef Slezak though after the landing record, but it is a potential i will try and explore further.

 

[Giuc0]

Yup, and in my PM, "Josef" is also a first name. Bruno is clearly a first name.

 

[LadyL]

77 pounds???

 

[Giuc0]

Yes. This is what is written.
Exactly 35kg. Which is abnormally thin.

 

[Romulus]

Potential match which I'm not too happy about, but it's the closest one I could find in DN and a reliable website about missing persons in Italy, Chi l'ha Visto.

DN: The Doe Network: Case File 408DMITA

Chi l'ha Visto: Chi l'ha Visto - Misteri - Josef Unterhuber - La scheda


Pros is that MP is fond of traveling and of Germanic origins, traveled in Europe and America so could had crossed Canadian border. Time lapse doesn't bother me too much as he was homeless, which fits about finding MP's passport in a US homeless shelter. "Josef" is MP's name we know, but having more than one given name and using only one doesn't bother me too much.
Cons is the city is in Italy but with two official languages, Italian and German; MP is not known to be married nor having children and UID's fractures are clearly unknown (but in the realm of possibilities because of extreme malnutrition).

Canadian MPs are not too good a match because they lack information for matching with UID.

Thread

MA - MA - Josef Unterhuber, 32, Boston, 11 Jan 1988

 

[FrostOwl]

Ok, my educated guess.

The name mentionned on the paper is clearly of Germanic origin!

I also think that based on his being extremely thin and his missing teeth that he was in extreme state of denutrition, which can impair cognition and can be also linked to mental illness, including substance abuse.
I wish we knew what toxicology results were!

I would look further east for the surname Slezak, to Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia, maybe even Hungary.
Slezak - Wikipedia

 

[branmuffin]

Ok, my educated guess.

The name mentionned on the paper is clearly of Germanic origin!

I also think that based on his being extremely thin and his missing teeth that he was in extreme state of denutrition, which can impair cognition and can be also linked to mental illness, including substance abuse.
I wish we knew what toxicology results were!

Does it mention where John Doe was found in the apartment building? If his body was decomposing it suggests he was in an apartment, away from the public eye. So was he in someone else's apartment?

Slezak is a Polish word referring to Silesia which was mostly in Poland but also Austria and Germany. So it's possible he may be Czech, German/Austrian or Slovak.

If he came to Canada in 1950 we don't know whether he came as a young man whose wife and child remained in Germany or whether he was much younger and was actually part of a family unit that came to Canada.

During the 1950s thousands of displaced persons came to Canada. If he came to Canada in 1950 we can presume he was IN West Germany after the country was split in half but it doesn't preclude him from actually being from other areas that came under Soviet control, like Poland and Czechoslovakia. Here's a link that shows the where many German refugees came from after WW2.

German Canadians | The Canadian Encyclopedia

Like many others, my father came to Canada, alone to make a better life for his family after the war. He was a young man but he had a skilled trade and found a job within hours of landing in Toronto. Almost every person who came to Canada during that time, really did make better lives for their families. If this UID was similar to my dad then I hope he was as successful as my dad was.

If his wife and child were still in Europe when he arrived in 1950 that suggests he is quite a bit older than originally thought, probably closer to 70 when he died. I am a little skeptical of his statement that his wife and child remained in Germany since there was a huge push to place as many displaced persons as possible. Perhaps family dynamics created a situation where his wife and child did come to Canada with him but returned to Europe.

As to his physical stature, it's quite possible he experienced malnutrition before, during and after WW2 which would have had detrimental effects on his bones and teeth and stature. He may have had a lifelong issue with poor dentition requiring numerous extractions.

If our John Doe arrived in Canada by ocean it's possible we could trace immigration records of ships coming from Germany, usually Bremen or Hamburg to Canada, although many refugees arriving in Canada came by way of New York. Unfortunately many records of passenger manifests from Bremen were destroyed either before or after the end of the war so that would be a dead end. If he came by air, I am not aware of any records to access.

It would be great to understand why he is listed as homeless if he was found in an apartment, unless he entered a vacant unit and passed away. The address is a fairly neat and tidy looking 3 storey building in an area with many similar look apartment buildings. It doesn't look like a hangout for homeless people. Although that is now.

As an aside on Unidentified Wiki, it states he told his neighbours he came to Canada in 1970 not 1950 which changes everything. It means he arrived by plane, he is much younger than we initially thought, there should be records somewhere of his arrival in Canada, and he would not have been considered a refugee or displaced person.

 

[Al Ka]

I absoutely agree with all the great research mentioned and done above.

I have to mention that Josef (first name), Slezak (surname) is not rare name at all in Eastern Europe, especially already mentioned in Czech, Slovakia, Poland and also Germany.

However, in Poland and Slovakia spelling of the first name Josef would be Jozef (with Z) rather than s.

He could have come to Canada in 50s after 2nd world war or in 70s after 1968 Revolution in Czechoslovakia when many people got a chance to run away to west before borders shut close again when neighbouring countries, including Soviets raided Czechoslovakia to restore once again the Communist order.

Prague Spring - Wikipedia

That leaves us with that he could be either from Czech or neighbouring Germany or as Branmuffin mentioned from the area of Germany/Czech where borders moved around in 2nd world war.

Last thing I have to mention that it is very very rare for someone from Eastern Europe to have middle name. Due to this I would lean on option that he was born in Germany to one or two Czech ancestors and received middle name Bruno at birth there.

 

[Al Ka]

On another thought I also have to mention that no Eastern European would Ever write the name in the order it was found written on piece of paper in this John Doe belongings - "Bruno Slezak Josef". Surname Slezak would be/should be always at the beginning or at the end. Never in the middle. So it all makes me wonder...

I have also found on ancestry 1940 census Bruno Slezak in Chicago,Illinois, who has father but also son called Joseph. But again, it is not that rare name.

 

[FrostOwl]

Was the note handwritten? There is a city in Chechia named Brno, could someone unfamiliar with the handwriting have read Brno as Bruno?

 

[Startover]

IS there a unidentifed websites for missing persons in German, Polish or Czecho slovakia? If there is maybe someone can copy the John Doe Unknown and post it there>..

 

[Bopit]

Hi all,

Found this thread while looking for another one and figured I'd drop my two cents in... Slezak is definitely a last name, and pretty common in Montreal (very big Jewish community here). Also want to add that Josef can be a last name, especially in Germanic languages. The weight is shockingly low for his height and body type "medium" so I believe he would have been in a state of heavy decomposition and the weight is just what they could get. Normally that would be the case if someone is found in their apartment, as it usually takes a while for someone to notice. Confused though, because he was found in an apartment, had told neighbours he had family back in Germany, but was homeless?

Very sad case (as they all are....)