Lost tooth may help man prove he’s late PM’S son

TORONTO — The winding saga of a man’s quest to prove former prime minister John Diefenbaker was his father seemed headed for the home stretch Wednesday with word of two new possibilities for genetic matching.

An excited George Dryden said he’s found a company that can do DNA tests on hairs that belonged to Diefenbaker, even though they no longer have the roots.

In addition, the museum in Saskatchewan that has the hair has also found a DNA report done on a tooth believed to have belonged to the former prime minister.

“We’ve got two irons in the fire,” Dryden said. “This will prove it definitely, once and for all.”

According to Dryden’s lawyer, the museum has opted to keep confidential the name of the person who requested testing of the tooth “some time ago.” Apparently the tooth was destroyed but the DNA report has now turned up.

Both the hairs and DNA report are expected to be sent to a Torontobased testing company early next week.

“We should have an answer, hopefully, by next week,” he said.

Last month, Dryden, 43, said he was giving up on further attempts to prove his paternity after a private investigator retrieved a used Q- tip from a distant Diefenbaker relative identified by a genealogist he had hired.

Genetic testing of the swab revealed a link between Dryden and the relative — enough to show he was a Diefenbaker by blood, even if it didn’t conclusively prove the parent- son link.

“For me it’s good enough, but apparently for everybody else, it’s not good enough,” Dryden said Wednesday.