Latulip was last seen by his family in Kitchener on Sept. 2, 1986. He was 21 years of age and described as developmentally delayed; an adult who functioned at the level of a child.
Police in Kitchener believed he had taken a bus and gone to the Niagara Region but although they were right, Latulip could not be found. Several years later, police received a tip he was seen in Hamilton, but they were unable to track him down.
In 2014, Silvia Wilson, Latulip’s mother told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record she was afraid her son was dead. The last time she saw her son was after a suicide attempt. At the time, Latulip was on a disability pension and lived in a rented room in Kitchener. Police feared he had gone to the Niagara Region for the purpose of committing suicide.
Latulip has been living independently in St. Catharines and from reports, he is doing well. In January of this year, he told his social worker he remembered his real name. The social worker did some research online and then contacted the Waterloo Regional Police.
Police arranged for DNA samples to be taken from Latulip and family members in Kitchener and sent them to the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto. Yesterday, police confirmed the DNA samples proved the man in St. Catharines was Latulip.
According to Niagara Regional Police Constable Phil Gavin, Latulip suffered a head injury shortly after arriving in the Niagara Region. “He believes he fell.” Gavin said. The injury affected his memory.
Det. Const. Duane Gingerich of the Waterloo Regional Police told CTV News, “It’s the only case that I know of where we’ve been able to find someone who has been missing for this period of time.”
Latulip has not yet had any contact with his mother but a reunion is being planned.
