The case of a man in Amsterdam captivated social media, but the search goes on for his identity — and the fate of Vancouver’s John Russell Kenny.
Article content
The search for John Russell Kenny goes on.
Article content
Amsterdam police have confirmed that the mysterious man in long-term care that they’ve been trying to identify for more than three years is not Kenny, who went missing from Vancouver more than 30 years ago.
Article content
Article content
They said they had received more than 500 tips about Lucky, including that he might be Kenny, but confirmed with Canadian authorities that it’s not the same person.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
“This lead was investigated together with the Canadian police, and it has now been definitively established that Lucky and Mr. Kenny are not the same person,” said Marijke Stor, senior spokesperson for the Amsterdam police.
Article content
Sunrise
Article content
“Tipsters have also provided several more specific names of people Lucky may be. Detectives are currently investigating at least nine of these leads.”
Article content
The case captivated the country after a video posted by the Amsterdam police went viral. They’d posted it with the hope of reigniting a cold case of a man who has been in a care home outside Amsterdam for the past three years and is unable to communicate.
Article content
In May 2023, an unknown man suffered a stroke and collapsed on the streets of Amsterdam. It left him hospitalized with severe aphasia and reportedly unable to speak beyond the words “nonsense” and “definitely.”
Article content
He had no ID or bank cards. The only clue was his accent, which sounded Canadian or American. He was known in the local Buddhist community that he frequented only using the name Lucky. At a nearby market, or local restaurants, he was known by several other names: Louis, Lee, Ponytail, Sonny, Chris the Canadian, and John.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
He bore a striking resemblance to Kenny, who would be 67 today, but police cautioned early on there were no definitive links beyond that.
Article content
Article content
The search to identify the man, and the fate of Kenny, continues.
Article content
“We are positively surprised by the number of responses and tips coming in. We continue to encourage people to share relevant information with us,” Stor said.
Article content
“At the same time, we ask people to exercise restraint when sharing their own findings on social media or elsewhere. As this case clearly demonstrates, it is not possible to identify Lucky based on photographs alone. Sharing conclusions too quickly and on a large scale can have a significant impact on people who may be involved, and the police would like to prevent this.”
Article content
