Donald Devinney Missing Person Case

On the evening of April 18, 1975, a 16-year-old male named Donald Nelson Devinney disappeared from Wolcott, in Wayne County, New York. At the time, Donald, a Caucasian male with brown hair and blue eyes, stood at 5'6' and weighed approximately 130 pounds. He was living with his foster parents on Younglove Road. That day, he had been fishing with his stepbrother at the Red Lake inlet off Larkin Road. Around 7:00 p.m., Donald decided to take a seventeen-foot yellow fiberglass canoe out onto the water. He was last seen by his stepbrother at about 7:30 p.m., heading out onto Lake Ontario.

Sometime after Donald ventured onto the lake, the canoe he was using was spotted floating unoccupied. Three days later, the canoe washed ashore in Jefferson County, New York. The water temperature in Lake Ontario on the day of his disappearance was a frigid 39 degrees, and the canoe was not equipped with any life jackets or other survival gear. An extensive search was launched to find the missing teenager, but his body was never located.

Authorities have presumed that Donald drowned in the cold waters of Lake Ontario, and his case is classified as a lost or injured missing person. Despite the passage of decades, there has been no confirmed contact with Donald since that spring evening in 1975. The investigation into his disappearance remains open, a lingering mystery for his family and the community. The recovery of the empty canoe is the last known trace of Donald, leaving behind unanswered questions about his final moments on the lake.
Last Seen: Apr 18, 1975

Donald Nelson DeVinney - The Charley Project

Missing Person / NamUs #MP70619

NY - Donald Nelson Devinney, 16, Wolcott, April 18 1975