On May 31, 1991, a 24-year-old man named Michael Penque was with his girlfriend, Helene Spina, in Niagara Falls, New York. That day, Michael decided to attempt a swim across the Adams Canal. The location was near the Niagara Falls Wastewater Treatment Facility on Buffalo Avenue, and his intended destination was the Ontario Hydro Project to the north. His girlfriend watched from the shoreline as he entered the water. He was approximately 50 yards into his swim when she lost sight of him.
Michael never resurfaced, and after he disappeared from view, his girlfriend immediately contacted the police to report what had happened.
At the time he went missing, Michael was described as being 6 feet tall and weighing around 165 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. His hair was distinctively styled; it was shaved except for a small circle on the top of his head, and he had a full goatee. Michael had several noticeable tattoos that served as unique identifying marks. These included a Playboy bunny on his right shoulder blade, a unicorn on his right forearm, and crosses tattooed on each of his shoulders. When he was last seen, the only clothing he was wearing was a pair of black shorts. The Niagara Falls Police Department was the investigating agency for his case.
Despite immediate notification to law enforcement and subsequent search efforts, no trace of Michael Penque was ever found. His case has remained open for decades with very few leads or new information surfacing over the years. The circumstances of his disappearance, as reported by his girlfriend, provide the only known account of his last moments. The overview of the case is that a young man attempted a swim in a canal, and according to the sole witness, he went underwater and was never seen again. Without any further evidence or recovery, what happened to Michael Penque that day remains a mystery, and he is still officially listed as a missing person.Last Seen: May 31, 1991
