A body found along the banks of the Okanogan River near Mallot, Washington has been identified as being the remains of a Keremeos man who disappeared in mid November of 2007.
The news closes a missing persons case that has been active since Miguel Goncalves was first reported missing in late November of that year.
The Keremeos RCMP detachment issued a missing persons report on November 29, 2007 noting that Goncalves, who was commonly seen in the streets of Keremeos that year, had gone missing since November 16 or 17. A resident of the Oasis Motel at the time, Goncalves was known to walk everywhere, and was typically seen in a blue baseball cap and blue jacket with purple on the sleeves.
Police followed up on several leads in the ensuing weeks, and at one point conducted a search of the Similkameen River locally, turning up nothing. In January of 2009 another public appeal for information was made, but the RCMP came up empty handed once again.
However, in March of this year, during a weekly BC and Washington State multi-agency law enforcement meeting, the Osoyoos RCMP was made aware of an unsolved Okanogan County human remains investigation from 2008 whereby a hiker came across skeletal human remains entangled in some riverbank trees along the Okanogan River near Mallot, Washington. A medical examiner could only confirm that the remains were of a male between the age of 20 and 50 years old and that he had undergone a surgical procedure where a medical Trochanteric Nail and end cap were implanted. Over the course of 2012, investigative efforts were made by the Osoyoos RCMP and the Okanogan County Sherriffs including attempts to determine accurate information regarding the implants. Little information was gained as the lot number records from the manufacturer failed to provide any accurate information about their installation.
One year after the RCMP became aware of this Washington file, an investigator with the BC Police Missing Persons Centre (BCPMPC) was conducting a review of historical missing persons cases in the South Okanagan area. During the process, the investigator conducting the review recalled the case of Mr Goncalves and his similar medical procedure with implants. As a result, Mr Goncalves’ medical records were obtained and forwarded to U.S. investigators and medical examiner.
With this new information, a forensic anthropologist was able to confirm that the remains were those of Miguel Joao Goncalves, born in 1961.
Police received many tips regarding Goncalves’ whereabouts in the weeks and months following his disappearance, including an eyewitness account that saw him crossing the Similkameen River near the mouth of the Ashnola around the time of his disappearance.
Foul play is not suspected in the case.
The Goncalves family has been informed of the discovery and would like to thank all of the agencies who advanced this investigation. They are asking that the media and public respect their privacy at this time.