Police in Amsterdam are continuing to try to identify the man who was found three years ago and whose identity remains unknown, but authorities refer to him as “The Lucky One.”
Internet sleuths led police in the European city and British Columbia to investigate whether Lucky was John Russell Kenny, who disappeared in 1994. Police eventually concluded that the two men were exactly that: two different people.
But how did this investigation begin and where is it now?
May 10, 2023: A man collapses on a street in Amsterdam. He was taken to hospital where he was found to be suffering from a brain hemorrhage or stroke. Police say he did not have any identification.
He was later determined to have aphasia, which can affect how people speak, read, write, and understand what others say.
May 2023 – August 2026: The West Amsterdam Detective Unit takes over the case and launches an investigation to establish the man’s identity. There is no criminal element to it, but Amsterdam police say the members wanted to help.
The man is transferred to a care center in southeast Amsterdam.
The police begin to explore different options by talking to people in the city, but they reach a dead end.
At an undisclosed time, police say “Team Cold Case” is taking over the investigation, as detectives in Amsterdam West have to move on to pursuing criminal cases.
Two retired detectives, identified only as Rod and Neil, volunteer with the team taking on the case as a “social investigation”.
The two investigators try to map out his social circle, talking to people in the community about whether they know him or not. This leads them to a Buddhist community in the city’s Midenwig. The members there tell Rod and Neil that the man has the nickname Lucky.
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Investigators interacted with Lucky periodically, but said he currently speaks only a few words, mostly “sure,” “bullshit” and “affirmative,” which he uses to agree or disagree when asked questions.
But even though they asked him questions about himself, including verbally, using talking computers, or pointing to letters on a map, they weren’t sure how much he actually understood.
By contacting other people and making their way across the city, investigators discovered that Lucky would occasionally visit Soep en Zo, a restaurant in Waterlooplein or Waterloo Square, for a drink. By talking to people there they discovered that he was known as “Canadian Chris” because of his accent.
Although there is no consensus on his true identity, police say investigators believe Lucky likely has no Dutch roots.
Some people who spoke with police said he may be Canadian or American because of his accent, which led to some nicknames being given to him.
August 17, 2026: After suggestions of a Canadian or American connection, Amsterdam police released a video on social media asking for the public’s help in identifying Lucky.
The video indicates that in addition to Lucky and Canadian Chris, he is also known by other names such as Louis, Lee, John, Ponytail and Sonny.
“We want to know not only who he is, but also whether there are, for example, any relatives who still love him that he can contact, because he is now in a nursing facility where they of course take good care of him,” Marijke Storr, Amsterdam police spokeswoman, said on August 19. “But he spends a lot of his time alone and we think it would be very good for him to be able to talk to someone he knows.”
August 19, 2026: Amsterdam police report they received more than 500 tips about Lucky within two days of the video being posted and say they are pursuing possible leads.
August 20, 2026: Vancouver police confirm they are looking into the possibility that Lucky may be a missing person from the area. A man named John Russell Kenny went missing on May 22, 1994, aged 34, and police said they were working with Amsterdam Police and Interpol to determine if they were the same man.
She added that Amsterdam police are evaluating five other people of interest.
August 22, 2026: Vancouver and Amsterdam police confirm Lucky is not Kenyan. According to Const. Megan Lowe of the Vancouver police, the fingerprints of the two men did not match.
Although it has been confirmed that Lucky is not the missing man in Vancouver, they have received several “specific names of people” and investigators are now investigating at least nine leads, Storr said.
Lowe confirmed that Vancouver was not involved in the investigation into any of those nine leads.
&Copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
