'Incredibly important to us': Winnipeg police ask public for help identifying deceased male
Individual is believed to have been in his late teens or early 20s, police say
Winnipeg police are asking the public for help identifying a person who died in hospital after being found in medical distress at a restaurant in the St. John's neighbourhood in early August.
Police originally released images of the person on Sept. 6, with details about where he had been located, in hopes of connecting with his loved ones and identifying him.
At a Thursday morning news conference, public information officer Const. Jay Murray said police and the provincial medical examiner's office have now exhausted all investigative avenues and have been unsuccessful in identifying the deceased.
"This is somebody's loved one … he's probably missed," Const. Murray said.
In the Sept. 6 news release, police said that emergency services responded to reports of a male in medical distress at the McDonald's restaurant at 1168 Main St. around 1:25 a.m. on Aug. 5.
He was taken to hospital in critical condition.
WATCH | Police seek help identifying young man who died:
"Nine days ago when we released this information, we knew that the male was deceased, but we made a decision out of respect for the family in hopes of being the ones to be able to sit down and talk to them, and notify them that their loved one had passed away," he said.
His death is not believed to be a homicide, and is not being investigated as a criminal matter.
Detectives have tried to identify the deceased with fingerprints, missing persons reports, and sharing information with community groups, Child and Family Services and law enforcement agencies, to no avail.
"The fact that his fingerprints are not in any local or national database means that he is likely unknown to any police agency in the country, which is an important element," Murray said.
Unresponsive when police arrived
Investigators have determined that the deceased boarded a Winnipeg transit bus (Route 15) in the area of McPhillips Street and Mountain Avenue around 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 5, and got off the bus about 10 minutes later at the corner for Mountain Avenue and Main Street.
He walked to a nearby McDonald's, and around 1:22 a.m. police received a call from a bystander concerned for the deceased's well-being. He was unresponsive when police and emergency services arrived, so they were never able to communicate with him before he died in hospital.
The deceased was six feet tall and weighed 160 pounds. He had no tattoos, piercings or distinctive dental features, and did not have any personal belongings on him, according to police.
He was wearing a pair of men's size 11 Nike Air Jordan shoes that were black with red and purple accents.
"It's incredibly important to us that this male gets identified and the loved ones be notified so that they can take part in a proper burial," Murray said.
Police are asking the public to contact the major crimes unit at 204-986-6219 if they have any information about the deceased, or remember encountering him the night of Aug. 5 in Winnipeg. The public is also encouraged to share his information with people who live outside of the city.
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