Vancouver police have confirmed that they are looking into the possibility that “Lucky,” the man found in the Netherlands, is a missing person from the Vancouver area.
The man, who has been nicknamed “Lucky,” collapsed on a street in Amsterdam on May 10, 2023.
He was taken to hospital, where medical professionals concluded the man had suffered a brain hemorrhage or stroke.
It was determined after he received medical care that he was left with aphasia, which affects how people speak, read, write and understand what other people say.
The man can reportedly say a few words in English, but otherwise doesn’t communicate verbally.
The Amsterdam-West detective unit handed over the case to the cold case unit and two officers determined he was a member of a Buddhist community based on Middenweg in Amsterdam, where some identified him with the nickname “Lucky.” Other sources also led them to Soep en Zo, a restaurant where he would occasionally get a drink on Waterlooplein or Waterloo Square.
It was there that they found out some called him “Chris the Canadian,” which prompted police’s public plea to people across the Atlantic Ocean through a video released Monday.
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
Now the Vancouver police said their missing persons unit is “actively collaborating with the Amsterdam Police and INTERPOL to determine whether John Russell Kenny and the individual known as ‘Lucky’ in the Netherlands are the same person,” Vancouver police said in a statement.
“As part of their investigation, the Amsterdam Police are also assessing five other persons of interest. The investigation remains ongoing, and no conclusions have been reached at this time.”
Kenny was reported missing on May 22, 1994, from Vancouver.
He was 34 years old at the time of his disappearance.
Kenny is originally from Ontario and resided without a fixed address in Vancouver. He was known for travelling by train, according to Canada’s Missing.
Vancouver police said that should an identification be made, they will provide an update on the case.
— with files from Sean Previl
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.