9 December 2005
Railway Suicide Remains Mystery
Regina - Ten years ago, on 28 Jul 1995, a young man lay down on a Regina railway
track, facing an oncoming train. He was killed instantly, the train unable to stop in time.
Ten years later, police and the coroner are still trying to solve the mystery that suicide created: Who was he?
"This investigation indeed is incomplete, despite the fact that there have been endless hours spent on trying to identify this
young man," said Saskatchewan's chief coroner, Kent Stewart, on Thursday. "Even more disturbing is the thought that after
these many years, there still may be a family out there that is wondering what became of their loved one."
A forensic artist with the Toronto Police Service recently provided a face for John Doe based on autopsy photos. The computer image
shows a clean-shaven young Caucasian man between 20 and 30 years of age with short medium-brown hair and blue
eyes. He is shown in the clothes he was found in, a black denim button-down shirt with a gold "crown" logo and a
white Boca Authentic T-shirt. The man, weighing about 140 to 160 pounds and standing about 5-foot-9, was also
wearing faded blue jeans and a pair of size 12 1/2 blue and white Reebok runners.
A search of his clothing and knapsack revealed no personal identification. The most personal item located was a silver brooch, shaped
like a rose - sometimes referred to as "the Christmas Rose" - found in his pocket.
Fingerprints turned up nothing, except that whoever he was, the man did not have a criminal record. There were no surgical scars or
tattoos. A search of missing persons files found no matches.
City police received their first and only glimpse into who the man may have been when a transient man, Randy Wakelin, came forward with
information about the person known to him only as Dave. The two had spent a few days together on the road before coming to Regina
24 Jul 1995.
Wakelin revealed that the unknown man was not any regular transient.
"You grow up around street people and you see these different things," Wakelin told police in 1996. "You know where
people come from very wealthy families that their manners are a little bit different. He had the manners of being very
well-to-do."
Sgt. Rod Buckingham with the city police's cold case unit spoke further about Wakelin's observations on Thursday.
"He certainly wasn't used to the street because he did things that no one else does," said Buckingham. "When he ate, he
would use a napkin, he'd lay out a napkin. He was very well-mannered all the time... Randy will tell you that he taught
him certain things about where to sleep and where to (find) shelter."
Wakelin described an educated man who knew nothing about drugs, talked about coming from a world of wealth - though he refused to talk
about his family, from whom Wakelin assumed he was estranged - and mentioned a painful break-up with a woman named Kathy.
He also talked about coming from "back east."
"He knew a lot about the ocean," Wakelin had told police. "A lot about that ocean. Which is why I still think he was
from somewhere on the East Coast. What really baffles me is that you would figure that somebody would be missing him by now."
Police have taken the information to the public before, the last time about five years ago, to search for more leads into the man's
identity. Years later, they are still hoping a member of the public will shed new light on the mystery.
,
"Our job as detectives is to solve these cases, so when you don't, it's frustrating," said Buckingham. "We just keep
going, follow every lead that we possibly can until they're exhausted and then we still hope for something new."
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