Mystery Bodies: Human Remains Unclaimed, Unexplained & Unidentified

[Yithian]

The start of what may prove to be an interesting mini-series.

There are so many unidentified human remains in the United States that the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System calls it “the nation’s silent mass disaster.” Roughly 4,400 human remains are found every year, and nearly one-quarter of those remain unidentified after one year. Some people were never reported missing. Some went missing decades ago. Some remains are incomplete, parts of them still out there like missing pieces to a puzzle. Cases run cold. The unidentified remains are placed in boxes and left on evidence room shelves, waiting for another shot at an investigation. Or, maybe just a chance to be remembered. And that’s if their cardboard tombs are not lost or forgotten first. In Oregon, there are 120 unidentified persons cases. Cold cases exist in 33 of Oregon’s 36 counties. Regan Mertz spent months delving into this issue for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She obtained and reviewed missing persons case files, interviewed current and former law enforcement officers, anthropologists and experts around the country. She also interviewed family members of missing people. This is The Unidentifieds, a podcast that investigates four long-forgotten cases in Oregon and how online genealogy and forensic anthropology helped families get closure. Cases that once seemed hopeless are now solvable. People who’ve existed for decades as lonely, nameless phantoms can, if nothing else, get their identities back.

In episode one, Regan and co-host Dave Killen go on a trip to southern Oregon’s Redwood Highway, where in 1971 a father and son discovered what looked liked a human spine and ribs while on a camping trip near mile marker 35. Upon initial investigation, the remains appeared to belong to a young woman, 18 to 20 years old, tall and slim. But the case went cold. And the remains became known as Jane Doe 79-940. Listen to episode one of The Unidentifieds to learn how genetic genealogy helped solve this 47-year-old case.

Subscribe to The Unidentifieds wherever you listen to podcasts. Look for Episode 2 on April 17.

And follow our continuing coverage of The Unidentifieds here:
https://www.oregonlive.com/theunidentifieds/

 

[ramonmercado]

An interesting and alarming point: In the Netherlands, almost all of the unidentified bodies of women appear to be murder cases, while - say police - unidentified men died in a range of circumstances.

Police in three European countries are asking for help to identify 22 murdered women whose names remain a mystery.

The bodies were found in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany between 1976 and 2019. An unsolved murder of a woman in Amsterdam, found in a wheelie bin in a river, sparked the move by Interpol. It's the first time the international police group has gone public with a list seeking information about unidentified bodies.

The so called black notices, released as part of the campaign known as Operation Identify Me, are normally only circulated internally among Interpol's network of police forces throughout the world.

The woman found in the bin in Amsterdam in 1999 had been shot in the head and chest. Forensic detective Carina Van Leeuwen has been trying to solve the mystery since joining the city's first cold case team in 2005. Dutch police say a case typically becomes "cold" when it remains open and unsolved after about three years. Having exhausted all efforts, she and a colleague contacted police in neighbouring Germany and Belgium and learned of many more possible murder cases with unidentified women victims. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65456183

 

[ramonmercado]

An interesting and alarming point: In the Netherlands, almost all of the unidentified bodies of women appear to be murder cases, while - say police - unidentified men died in a range of circumstances.

Police in three European countries are asking for help to identify 22 murdered women whose names remain a mystery.

The bodies were found in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany between 1976 and 2019. An unsolved murder of a woman in Amsterdam, found in a wheelie bin in a river, sparked the move by Interpol. It's the first time the international police group has gone public with a list seeking information about unidentified bodies.

The so called black notices, released as part of the campaign known as Operation Identify Me, are normally only circulated internally among Interpol's network of police forces throughout the world.

The woman found in the bin in Amsterdam in 1999 had been shot in the head and chest. Forensic detective Carina Van Leeuwen has been trying to solve the mystery since joining the city's first cold case team in 2005. Dutch police say a case typically becomes "cold" when it remains open and unsolved after about three years. Having exhausted all efforts, she and a colleague contacted police in neighbouring Germany and Belgium and learned of many more possible murder cases with unidentified women victims. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65456183

Update,

Over 200 tips have been received by Interpol one week after the launch of an international appeal to identify 22 deceased women.

These bodies were found in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands over a period of 43 years. Most of the women met violent deaths — some were dismembered, while some showed signs of abuse or starvation — with the most recent body discovered in 2019.

The women’s unknown identities is frustrating detectives’ hunts for their killers and police launched Operation Identify Me last month, seeking the public’s help putting names to the women.

Since it was launched a week ago, the tips have provided police in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands with potential names of victims in several cases, and provided investigators with concrete leads.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41140531.html

 

[escargot]

Reading between the lines here, I get the feeling that the police are already on it with the identification and suspects in his murder.
They seem very certain about the details.

Discovery of skeleton in Midlands field prompts murder investigation

Police have begun a murder investigation after the discovery of a human skeleton in a field in the Midlands and have appealed for information about socks and a shoe found at the site.

Nottinghamshire Police said they believe the victim was murdered and that evidence gathered during a three-week search of the scene suggested the body was buried there in an attempt to prevent its discovery.


A number of bones were found on April 26 by a member of the public after construction work on farmland in Coxmoor Road, near Sutton-in-Ashfield, prompting a police operation which saw the exhumation of further remains.

 

[maximus otter]

Reading between the lines here, I get the feeling that the police are already on it with the identification and suspects in his murder.

“Nottinghamshire Police said they believe the victim was murdered and that evidence gathered during a three-week search of the scene suggested the body was buried there in an attempt to prevent its discovery.”

a) Bodies are rarely buried to make it more likely that they’ll be found.

b) I’m unaware of many instances where someone has died, then buried themselves.

Apart from those minor caveats, 10/10 Notts. police and the Groan.



maximus otter

 

[cycleboy2]

I think this lives in this thread. If not, feel free to move.

Absolutely fascinating long-read piece in the Guardian about a woman who jumped to her death in Wembley in 2004 but who was never identified and whose body was never claimed.

It includes info on an organisation called Locate International, a group of volunteers who examine cold cases.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...ery-who-was-the-woman-who-jumped-to-her-death

[Edited to put the year in.]

 

[Spookdaddy]

I think this lives in this thread. If not, feel free to move.

Absolutely fascinating long-read piece in the Guardian about a woman who jumped to her death in Wembley in 2004 but who was never identified and whose body was never claimed.

It includes info on an organisation called Locate International, a group of volunteers who examine cold cases.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...ery-who-was-the-woman-who-jumped-to-her-death

[Edited to put the year in.]

I've mentioned this case elsewhere, I think. Clearly very tragic - but also kind of intriguing.

The Missing podcast - who work in association with Locate International and the charity Missing People - created an episode on the case (available here).

Edit: I forgot to mention that the oil painting she left behind was one of those things that looked instantly familiar the moment I saw it, but which 'familiarity', I'm fully aware, is probably just a construct of my brain. (I did wonder if it had reminded me of a piece of album art from the 80s/90s - but I've never been able to pin it down to anything specific that might have triggered such a response.)

 

[escargot]

I think this lives in this thread. If not, feel free to move.

Absolutely fascinating long-read piece in the Guardian about a woman who jumped to her death in Wembley in 2004 but who was never identified and whose body was never claimed.

It includes info on an organisation called Locate International, a group of volunteers who examine cold cases.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...ery-who-was-the-woman-who-jumped-to-her-death

[Edited to put the year in.]

Here's a view of the building taken from the train this morning.
I often see it but hadn't realised there was a tragic story.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Here's a view of the building taken from the train this morning.
I often see it but hadn't realised there was a tragic story.

Yikes! I used to work in that building! I worked on the 17th floor, IIRC.
I never knew there was a tragic story associated with it either.

Edit: I think the building was sold and it's being turned into flats. It used to be an office block.

 

[Robbrent]

I find the unidentified dead both fascinating but so tragic

I do think quite a few of the British cases would be solved if the DNA was inputted onto the commercial DNA databases, it's working out really well in the States I don't know why they don't try it

 

[staticgirl]

I walked past Carpenders Park Cemetary yesterday on the way to the next door garden centre (which is excellent by the way). It is a lovely place to lay at rest. I thought of the mysterious woman as I passed. I hope she is at peace.

 

[hunck]

Mystery of dead boy found wrapped in foil, tied to concrete slab and dumped in river​

His body was found last year, on May 19, in the River Danube near Grossmehring in Bavaria, Germany.

The child, believed to be five or six when he died, had been weighed down by a flagstone slab and wrapped in foil.

It is not known how long the boy’s remains were in the river before they were discovered, and German police have been unable to identify the child.

Investigators believe he was approximately 110cm tall, weighing 15kg, with brown hair and blood type O.

They have created a 3D reconstruction of what they think he may have looked like and offered a £8,600 (€10,000) reward for anyone comes forward with any clues.

It is believed the boy had spent time in other countries so the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and its 195 member countries, including the UK, are now involved.

Secretary general Jürgen Stock said: ‘Someone, somewhere knows something about this boy, making it equally important to release certain details publicly.

‘Whether he was the victim of trafficking, abduction or violence, we are committed to mobilising all of Interpol’s policing capabilities to identify him and help investigators shed light on his death.’

 

[AnonyJ]

The UK's UID database can be found here: https://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/case-search/wmyc442

It aims to list all deceased UI people, and does welcome information and leads

 

[Robbrent]

The UK's UID database can be found here: https://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/case-search/wmyc442

It aims to list all deceased UI people, and does welcome information and leads

I am surprised that people remain unidentified for so long with the advent of DNA and genetics, I really think it's time that the authorities in the UK and Europe start to use the commercially available DNA databases like they are doing in the US it would clear up a lot of the cases

 

[AnonyJ]

I am surprised that people remain unidentified for so long with the advent of DNA and genetics, I really think it's time that the authorities in the UK and Europe start to use the commercially available DNA databases like they are doing in the US it would clear up a lot of the cases

I would surmise that at least three factors might defeat that aim -

• The privacy and data concerns of the commercial DNA databases, and the caveats that need to apply when submitting an UID DNA profile to a private company
• The cost in time and money involved and the limited staff available in the relevant departments of the police and forensic services in the UK
• UK & NI being islands and thus many of the UID are foreign citizens whose families may not have any DNA data recorded in the databases commonly used in UK & Western Europe.

Some of these cases are now solved by ordinary citizens having access to worldwide social media and other outlets. There is one case I am thinking of publicising, due to family links with south Asia.

 

[Robbrent]

I would surmise that at least three factors might defeat that aim -

• The privacy and data concerns of the commercial DNA databases, and the caveats that need to apply when submitting an UID DNA profile to a private company
• The cost in time and money involved and the limited staff available in the relevant departments of the police and forensic services in the UK
• UK & NI being islands and thus many of the UID are foreign citizens whose families may not have any DNA data recorded in the databases commonly used in UK & Western Europe.

Some of these cases are now solved by ordinary citizens having access to worldwide social media and other outlets. There is one case I am thinking of publicising, due to family links with south Asia.

I believe its a legal and privacy issue rather than cost, but you do make a fair point about many being from overseas most likely here illegally so there would be no record of them entering the country, and also there are thousands that live on the periphery of society, here no one particularly cares about them, which I find very sad

 

[AnonyJ]

I would surmise that at least three factors might defeat that aim -

• The privacy and data concerns of the commercial DNA databases, and the caveats that need to apply when submitting an UID DNA profile to a private company
• The cost in time and money involved and the limited staff available in the relevant departments of the police and forensic services in the UK
• UK & NI being islands and thus many of the UID are foreign citizens whose families may not have any DNA data recorded in the databases commonly used in UK & Western Europe.

Some of these cases are now solved by ordinary citizens having access to worldwide social media and other outlets. There is one case I am thinking of publicising, due to family links with south Asia.

I believe its a legal and privacy issue rather than cost, but you do make a fair point about many being from overseas most likely here illegally so there would be no record of them entering the country, and also there are thousands that live on the periphery of society, here no one particularly cares about them, which I find very sad

I've been prompted to read a bit deeper into how using DNA genealogy works in the US, it seems to be a complex and lengthy process undertaken by volunteers for the non-profit DNA Doe Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_Doe_Project

Wikipedia has the information quoted below, and it becomes apparent that it's much more complex than (for example) fingerprints comparison.

"....In 2017, Fitzpatrick, Press, and a small group of volunteers formed the volunteer-based, nonprofit DNA Doe Project (DDP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Sebastopol, California. The two, along with many volunteers, use genetic and traditional genealogy sources in conjunction with DNA from unidentified victims and working with local law enforcement agencies to build family trees through GEDmatch, a free public DNA database. Through this process, they have been able to identify several individuals in cold cases.

In March 2018, the DDP announced it had solved its first case. Known for decades as the "Buckskin Girl", the victim was identified as Marcia Lenore Sossoman (King). Her father had died in 2018, a few months before the identification was made, but other family members gathered to commemorate King when they unveiled a new gravestone bearing her name at her grave in Riverside Cemetery, Miami County, Ohio.

In May 2019, GEDmatch required people who had uploaded their DNA to its site to specifically opt in to allow law enforcement agencies to access their information. This change in privacy policy was forecast to make it much more difficult in the future for law enforcement agencies to solve cold cases using genetic genealogy. As of 2021, the organization has assisted in discovering the identity of more than 50 individuals, with 44 cases being publicized as identified...."

So the US project essentially depends on people uploading DNA to a publicly available free database, individuals allowing law enforcement bodies access to that information, and the generosity of genetic genealogists with time to spare. If the 2017-2021 rate still stands then the volunteers are IDing people about every 5 weeks.

Edited to add: A comparable UK-based group is the charity Locate International online at https://locate.international/

"A UK Registered Charity dedicated to helping families of unsolved missing person cases find their loved ones. We do this by building teams of specialists from different disciplines and volunteers from local communities. The teams investigate and review the cases to ensure that all that can reasonably be done, has and is being done.
Our service is carried out at no cost to families. We consider unsolved cases collectively to better understand the issues, commonalities and how missing person investigations can be advanced.Locate International operates in partnership with Universities, Law Enforcement Agencies, the Police and the families of those missing..."

 

[ramonmercado]

Identified after 80 years.

On 20 August 1940, the body of an unknown man was found by a nine-year-old boy on the South Ayrshire coast.

Two days later, the unidentified individual was buried in an unmarked grave in Girvan's Doune Cemetery. More than 80 years later, detailed research has revealed his name - Francesco D'Inverno - and parts of his life story have been put together. Now it is hoped he can be given a proper gravestone and members of his family traced.

IMAGE SOURCE ,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Francesco D'Inverno was one of hundreds of people who died in the sinking of the Arandora Star

The story begins with the sinking of the Arandora Star which was torpedoed by a U-boat on 2 July 1940 off the Irish Coast. The converted liner was being used to transport internees - mainly Italians - rounded up as "enemy aliens" across the UK after their country entered World War II.

More than 800 lives were lost with only a small number of the victims ever formally identified. A few weeks later the body was found near Lendalfoot - thought to be the only one to have reached the Scottish mainland.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-66684801

 

[ramonmercado]

Update,

Over 200 tips have been received by Interpol one week after the launch of an international appeal to identify 22 deceased women.

These bodies were found in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands over a period of 43 years. Most of the women met violent deaths — some were dismembered, while some showed signs of abuse or starvation — with the most recent body discovered in 2019.

The women’s unknown identities is frustrating detectives’ hunts for their killers and police launched Operation Identify Me last month, seeking the public’s help putting names to the women.

Since it was launched a week ago, the tips have provided police in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands with potential names of victims in several cases, and provided investigators with concrete leads.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-41140531.html

Update.

A British woman has been identified more than 30 years after her murder in Belgium, following the launch of a landmark police campaign.

Rita Roberts' family spotted her distinctive tattoo in a BBC report, according to policing agency Interpol. The last contact the 31-year-old had with her family was via a postcard in May 1992. Her body was found the following month.

Her family said the news was "shocking and heartbreaking".

"Our passionate, loving and free-spirited sister was cruelly taken away," they said in a statement, shared by Interpol. "Whilst the news has been difficult to process, we are incredibly grateful to have uncovered what happened to Rita."

Ms Roberts was one of 22 murdered women who police in Europe were seeking to identify through a campaign launched earlier this year, called Operation Identify Me.​

The campaign marked the first time Interpol had gone public with a list of so-called black notices, seeking information about unidentified bodies. Such notices are normally only circulated internally among Interpol's network of police forces throughout the world. Most of the victims were aged between 15 and 30. The full list - available on Interpol's website - includes details about the women, photographs of possible identifying items, and, in some cases, new facial reconstructions and information about the cases.

Ms Roberts had travelled from her home in Cardiff to the Belgian city of Antwerp in February 1992. Her body was found lying against a grate in a river four months later, after she had been violently killed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67407020

 

[Xanatic*]

Danderyd high school in Sweden had a prop skeleton hanging in their theater department for years. As they recently discovered it is in fact not a prop, it will be taken down and cremated.

 

[maximus otter]

Clapham chemical attack: Police find 2 bodies in Thames – but neither are that of Abdul Ezedi


The Metropolitan Police have found two bodies in the River Thames in their search for Abdul Ezedi, but neither is the suspected Clapham chemical attacker.

On Saturday, the search teams discovered two bodies around two miles apart but neither is believed to be Ezedi.

One body was recovered near HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge, at 10.13am, and another man’s body near Limehouse, east London at 10.39am, less than half an hour later.

The deaths are being treated as unexpected and police are working to confirm the men’s identities and inform their next of kin.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/thames-search-for-abdul-ezedi-finds-two-bodies/ar-BB1i7BSt

maximus otter

 

[escargot]

The bodies of two so far unidentified males have been found in the River Thames in London.
They'd probably have stayed undiscovered if the police had not been searching for a suspect.

Two ‘unexpected’ bodies recovered from Thames in search for Abdul Ezedi

Two male bodies have been recovered from the River Thames as police search for a suspect who severely injured a “vulnerable” woman and her two young daughters in a chemical assault.

Neither body was identified as that of Abdul Ezedi, who has been on the run since the attack on 31 January in Clapham, south London. He was last seen walking “with purpose” to Chelsea Bridge in west London and was captured on CCTV leaning over the railings of the bridge on the night of the attack.

After that, there was a visible change in his behaviour, resulting in a “loss of sight”, with no further CCTV footage of him coming off the bridge.

The bodies of two men were pulled from the river on Saturday, and both deaths are being treated by police as “unexpected pending further inquiries”.

 

[escargot]

Here's an interesting Guardian piece about human bones found during building work on a house in Gamboa near Rio de Janeiro.

Long story short - the bones were of enslaved people who'd died during transit from Africa to Brazil.

Experience: I discovered a mass grave under my house

It was a hot, sunny day in January when, over lunch, one of the workers told me about finding animal bones in the holes they were digging.

He wondered if the previous owners had had a lot of animals.

After lunch, I rummaged through the piles of debris he had dug up and, to my shock, found pieces of skulls.

I told the construction worker that these weren’t animal bones – they were human.

 

[maximus otter]

Rowdown Fields Croydon: Possible human remains found​

The discovery was made by police in Lodge Lane at Rowdown Fields shortly after 9am today (April 2).

Officers will remain at the scene throughout the night to establish the circumstances of the incident.

The remains will be sent away for analysis.

https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk...-fields-croydon-possible-human-remains-found/

maximus otter

 

[ramonmercado]

While the skeletal remains are unidentified the likely time periods of their deaths are revealed.

Bones found after being unveiled by coastal erosion on the Cornish coast were probably from a shipwrecked sailor, say archaeologists.

Analysis of the the bones found near Trevone in 2022 suggest the body was from the 18th Century, the Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU) said.

The unit also said a skull found during a beach clean at Sennen in Cornwall in 2023 was about 3,300 years old.

The discoveries are the latest human remains found on the coast.

Ann Reynolds, senior officer for the rural historic environment at Cornwall Council said the Trevone discovery was of a man aged between 25 and 40 years old.

"The bones suggest that the individual had done a lot of very heavy manual labour, like pulling and hauling, suggesting that they had very well-developed upper body muscle," she said.

Cornwall Council
A skull was found a Sennen during a beach clean

"These activity-related changes to the back of the head, shoulders and upper arms are consistent with an active lifestyle involving persistent use of the arms/shoulders and fit with the theory that this was a shipwrecked mariner. Some activity-related wear to the teeth may also be consistent with a sailing lifestyle as there is a suggestion of repeated holding of cord/rope in their mouth from wear patterns on the teeth. In all, the evidence is as good as we will ever get to suggest that this was indeed an 18th Century shipwrecked sailor."

Only the skull remained of the Sennen body but radiocarbon dating had placed this individual "firmly into the Middle Bronze Age", she said.

"We cannot tell much more due to the limited survival of the bones, but it might be male and of around middle age."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-68741281

 

[JamesWhitehead]

A gruesome case is unfolding in Kersal, Salford.

A "torso" was found in the Kersal Wetlands. At first, they could not say what gender it was. Then we heard it was male, over 40 and he "could not have survived" - suggesting only part of a torso was found? Now, we hear that a man in his 20s has been arrested, though the victim has not been identified. RIP

 

[JamesWhitehead]

More details have emerged about the Kersal torso.

The arrested man has been bailed. Seems the lower part of a torso was found. It was hairless, which caused confusion over the gender. It is suspected other parts of the corpse may have been thrown into the Irwell. More on that page.

 

[JamesWhitehead]

A short update on the Kersal Dale torso case.

A photo of the bunker, where the body parts were found. Seems his bottom, lower back and a thigh are all there is. No wonder, he couldn't have survived! Ominously quiet! Playing children may have noticed some clues but that sounds like grasping at straws.