Foot bones found washed up on the shore of Sasamat Lake last November have been identified as belonging to a man who went missing after a fishing trip 25 years ago.
Stefan Zahorjuko did not return from an excursion to the popular angling destination on Jan. 5, 1987. His overturned boat and personal effects were later discovered floating in the middle of the lake, while his vehicle and trailer were located on nearby Bedwell Bay Road.
But DNA analysis of the remains found confirmed that the foot belongs to Zahorujko, a Vancouver man, who would have been 65 at the time he went missing.
The B.C. Coroners Service said the identification came after an exhaustive investigation with the help of local law enforcement agencies.
When Zahorjuko first disappeared numerous recovery efforts were made in an attempt to locate the body. It was presumed he had fallen from the boat and drown.
A youth attending the Sasamat Outdoor Centre first noticed a black, size 12, Cougar brand boot floating several metres from the on the northwest shore on Nov. 4, 2011.
By the next morning the shoe had washed up on to land and several campers found a sock and remains of what an autopsy confirmed was a human foot.
An autopsy indicated the foot had not been mechanically removed but separated through the natural processes that occur in water.
