Vancouver, British Columbia — , on May 10, 2023, a man collapsed in the street in Amsterdam after suffering a brain hemorrhage or stroke. He was taken to OLVG hospital, where he was diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder that can impact speech, as well as one's ability to understand spoken and written language.
The man called Lucky — who was not carrying any ID at the time of his hospitalization — has been unable to provide investigators with any helpful clues about his identity; therefore, the Amsterdam-West detective unit launched an investigation in an attempt to establish his identity.
Online sleuths have suggested the man Amsterdam authorities call "Lucky" could be John Russell Kenny, a Vancouver, B.C. man who lost contact with his family decades ago — and the Vancouver Police Department confirmed investigators are looking into that possibility.
Amsterdam police have reason to believe he's originally from Canada, however, in part because staff at a local restaurant said they recognized him as someone they knew as "Chris the Canadian."
Through their years of investigation, authorities said they heard of other names he apparently went by, including Louis, Lee, John, Ponytail and Sonny.
The department's Missing Person Unit is actively collaborating with Netherlands police and Interpol to confirm whether Lucky and Kenny are one and the same, spokesperson Const. Megan Lui told CTV News.
He hasn’t had contact with his family since 1993, according to the VPD's Missing Person Cold Cases website. He wasn’t officially reported missing until 2018.
Kenny was born on July 12, 1959, which would make him 67 years old in 2026.
Police asked anyone with information that could help solve the case to contact Netherlands police using an online tip form.
