Renewed plea for DNA sample from family of missing Stratford, Ont. man

Investigators are one step closer to finding out what happened to two Stratford, Ont. men who disappeared on a fishing trip 57 years ago.

Ontario Provincial Police recently made a public plea to the relatives of Neil Wormsbecker, 29, and Hank Englebertus Halff, 30. They were requesting genetic samples from biological family members to compare to human remains listed in their DNA database.

As a result, OPP said they’ve received several tips and they have since been in contact with Halff’s relatives.

They are, however, still looking for Wormsbecker’s family.

Both men were last seen on Oct. 22, 1967.

“They went out fishing from Goderich,” OPP Const. Craig Soldan said on Oct. 2. “There was a storm that came in. They were last seen just south of Goderich, out in Lake Huron fishing.”

Wormsbecker and Halff were never seen or heard from again.

In the years since their disappearance, police lost contact with their families.

The Wormsbecker family, or anyone else with information on the missing men, 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.