An age progressed photo of Edgar Latulip. Waterloo Regional Police Service

A man missing nearly 30 years has been found alive and safe, living just 80 miles away from where he disappeared. He had reportedly been suffering major memory loss due to a head injury.

Edgar Latulip was 21-years-old when he vanished in September 1986 from a group home in Kitchener, Ontario. According to local news reports at the time, Latulip, who had developmental delays, was being treated after attempting suicide. Officials believed he may have jumped on a bus bound for Lake Ontario or Niagara Falls to possibly try again.

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But decades later, the results of a DNA test have confirmed Latulip is alive and living just a few towns over from where he was last seen.

Sometime after leaving the home in 1986, police believe Latulip suffered some type of head injury, leaving him with no memory of who he was. He started a new life with a new name, with no memory of the family who was desperately looking for him.

Then, in January of this year, Latulip told a social worker in St. Catherines, Ontario that he had a flashback and remembered his name. After looking at a missing person flyer online, Latulip came to a police station to undergo a voluntary DNA test, which officials compared to a sample taken from a family member.

It was confirmed to be a match last Friday.

“It’s the only case, that I know of, where we’ve been able to find someone who has been missing for this period of time,” Det. Const. Duane Gingerich, of the Waterloo Regional Police, told CTV.

Officials say Latulip’s mother, Silvia Wilson, who had thought her son may have met with some type of foul play, is overwhelmed by the news. The family is now making plans to reunite.

“I did speak with one of the family members… they’re obviously very happy about it,” Ginerich told CTV.