Police in Somerset and Dorset trying to identify 17 bodies

Police are still trying to identify 17 bodies which have been found in Somerset and Dorset.

The UK Missing Persons Bureau has a list of all the human remains found stretching back to the 1960s which have never been given a name.

Both Avon and Somerset Police and Dorset Police have a number of clues but have many bodies remain unidentified.

Full details are given in each case of what the victim had been wearing and anything else which might give a clue to their identity.

A gallery has been provided featuring some of the information investigators have to go on but WARNING, there is some incredibly graphic content and readers of a sensitive nature may wish to avoid.

Cases include:

A human left foot was washed up on Clevedon beach in June 1993. The right foot was found in 1994 and all investigators have to go on is the Nike trainer found with it. A crash helmet, also though to belong to the victim was also recovered.

A man found in the toilets of a Bournemouth restaurant in February 2009. He was known in the local area for about 20 years as 'Charlie' and was believed to have been from Indonesia, possibly Sumatra. Scar indicates he had previously had surgery, and he suffered from an enlarged heart as well as showing signs he had suffered a stroke previously.

The skeletal remains of a man were found under a mattress in a dip on Parley Common in Dorset in 2006 but he could have been there since 2000. Experts reconstructed his skull using computers and created an image of what he may have looked like.

An “oriental man” was recovered from the sea at Weymouth in 2002. He had a curved spine and broken nose.

A white European man was found in the River Avon in 1996 and it is believed he fell from Clifton suspension bridge. A passport photo was found on his person along with a paperback book – The Greatest Batman Stories, maps, razors and a penny whistle.

A man’s body was found in a ditch near Manor Farm, Dorchester, in 1986. He had a holdall with him with a map of Weymouth and partially full box of Veginen tablets. An image of the corpse was released to aid the inquiry.

A man aged 20 to 50 was found at Yellowham Hill half a mile north of the A35 in 1975. He had died of amytal and mandrax poisoning and had been carrying a Yale type key with RST on one side and 8D on the other.

A female body was found in a beach hut at The Cobb in Lyme Regis in 1974. An image of her post-mortem was released. Eight of her teeth had gold fillings.

The full extraordinary details can be found by clicking this link.

Anyone who believes they may be able to help in any of the cases can email missingpersonsbureau@nca.pnn.police.uk or contact 0845 000 5481.

Saturday 05 April 2014

Read more: http://www.westerngazette.co.uk/Police-Somerset-Dorset-trying-identify-17-bodies/story-20915007-detail/story.html