An amateur investigator in Gelderland may have helped uncover the identity of an unknown man who has lived in an Amsterdam nursing home since 2023.
The man, nicknamed Lucky, collapsed on an Amsterdam street following an infarction that left him completely unable to communicate.
He had lived entirely under the radar of public authorities before his medical emergency. After two years of unsuccessful inquiries by volunteers on the cold case team, detectives released video footage of the man in his bed asking for help from the public.
A search across missing person databases
Amsterdam police have received more than 500 tips since releasing the appeal, ranging from potential names to suggested investigative methods.
Anton van Straten, a 58-year-old resident of Tiel, began searching North American missing persons files using artificial intelligence tools to identify relevant websites before manually reviewing individual profiles.
Witnesses had told detectives that the man spoke with a Canadian or American-English accent, while others remembered him as “Chris the Canadian”.
Before his collapse, the man had also spent time with a Buddhist community in Amsterdam, where members gave him the nickname Lucky.
Potential match in Vancouver
On the Vancouver police website, Van Straten identified a missing person case concerning a white man last in touch with his family in 1993, when he was 34 years old.
The missing Canadian man was described as having mental health struggles and regularly spending time in nature, which Van Straten linked to the lifestyle Lucky later led in Amsterdam.
Van Straten sent his dossier to detectives in both countries, after which a Vancouver officer confirmed they were reaching out to the Amsterdam cold case team.
Canadian police confirmed they received multiple messages after the Amsterdam appeal was broadcast, while Van Straten’s findings spread widely across social media.
Formal checks underway
An Amsterdam police spokesperson confirmed that detectives are systematically evaluating all incoming tips while keeping in mind the families who remain in uncertainty.
The police acknowledged similarities such as the Canadian accent, but declined to comment on specific physical traits or scars noted on missing person registries.
If investigators find concrete evidence linking the two cases, Dutch authorities will submit a formal legal assistance request to Canada.
