Solving a 57-year-old mystery could depend on finding DNA match

What happened to two men who left on a fishing trip 57 years ago and never returned home?

That’s the question Ontario Provincial Police are hoping to answer.

Neil Wormsbecker, 29, and Hank Englebertus Halff, 30, left for their outing on Oct. 22, 1967.

The men both lived in Stratford, Ont. at the time.

“They went out fishing from Goderich,” said OPP Const. Craig Soldan. “There was a storm that came in. They were last seen just south of Goderich, out in Lake Huron fishing.”

Their boat was eventually found, but Wormsbecker and Halff were never seen again.

The Ontario Center for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains and the National Missing Persons DNA program are now hoping to close the decades-old case.

And they already have their first clue.

“They have DNA that’s on file from found human remains that have been located in Lake Huron,” Soldan explained. “They’ve asked us to see if we can obtain some DNA samples from any remaining biological family members to compare with their DNA that they have on file, to either rule out these two individuals or confirm it’s one of them, or both of them, and provide some closure to the family.”

Unfortunately, investigators are no longer in contact with any of Wormsbecker and Halff’s relatives.

They’re hoping this public appeal will reach their loved ones.

“A DNA sample is not very intrusive,” said Soldan. “It’s probably just a buccal swab that they would take from the inside of your mouth, and that sample would be forwarded up to the DNA databank and provided to those agencies so they could compare it with the ones they have on file.”

Even though it’s been 57 years since the two men disappeared, OPP are confident that they can solve the mystery.

“They’re considered missing until proven otherwise,” Soldan explained. “Even though this case is historic, it’s still unsolved for us. It’s a case that we revisit every year and we try to look at new ways to solve this case.”

The families of Wormsbecker and Halff, or anyone else with information on the disappearance, are asked to contact Huron County OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or 519-482-1677. Anonymous tips can also be shared with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or P3tips.com.

- With reporting by Krista Simpson