Who is “Lucky”? That is the question that has been occupying Amsterdam’s Cold Case Team for three years, after an “unknown” man was admitted to hospital. It soon becomes clear that every avenue to establish his identity leads to a dead end. The man has suffered a brain haemorrhage or stroke and is no longer able to communicate. Although this is not a police case—it is, after all, not a criminal matter—it continues to occupy colleagues Ruud and Nel. Surely, there must be someone who knows who “Lucky” is?

On 10 May 2023, a man collapses in the street. He is taken to OLVG hospital, where it becomes clear that he has suffered a brain haemorrhage or stroke. After receiving the necessary medical care, doctors determine that the man has been left with aphasia, a condition that in this case makes communication extremely difficult. He is unable to provide any information about his identity or address.

The Amsterdam-West detective unit therefore launches an investigation in an attempt to establish his identity. Not because they are required to do so, but simply because they want to help. The man has meanwhile been transferred to a care facility in Amsterdam Southeast. Although police officers pursue every possible avenue to find out more, they seem to keep reaching a dead end. Professionals closely involved with Lucky have by now begun referring to him as lacking the capacity to make decisions for himself.

But where do they go from here?

Fortunately, Team Cold Case becomes involved. The Amsterdam-West detectives are unable to make any further progress and need to focus on criminal cases. Ruud and Nel—now retired and working as volunteers with the Cold Case Team—are assigned the case. Rather than conducting a criminal investigation, they begin a social investigation. One possibility they consider is that there may be worried family members who know nothing about what has happened to him and, because they are not known to authorities, cannot be informed.

Buddhist Temple and Waterlooplein

Ruud and Nel soon try to map out who Lucky has been in contact with and what his social circles look like. They discover that he is a member of a Buddhist community based on Middenweg in Amsterdam. Members there tell them that the unidentified man is known by the nickname “Lucky.” Through other sources, Ruud and Nel discover that Lucky occasionally has a drink at Soep en Zo on Waterlooplein. To their surprise, however, he is known there as “Chris the Canadian.”

American? Canadian?

Once again, there is no clear answer as to the “real” identity of the nameless man. An additional challenge is that Lucky’s roots probably do not lie in the Netherlands. People around him believe that he may be from the United States or Canada. After all, he always spoke English, with an accent that sounded as though it came from one of those countries. Hence the nicknames used by people around him. To this day, Lucky still uses words such as “nonsense” and “definitely” to confirm or deny something. Unfortunately, he is unable to communicate much beyond that.

Everyone has the right to know who he is

Nel: “I simply cannot believe that nobody knows who this man really is. Isn’t it strange that you could perhaps live under the radar in the Netherlands for twenty years?”

Ruud: “Every person has the right to an identity, and that includes this man.”

Do you know who Lucky is? If so, please contact the police.