UNIDENTIFIED REMAINS

 

 

POONA DAM

The tattoos are of a shark and eagle on his left shoulder as well as on his right shoulder, a woman with an American Indian headdress and what appears to be a warrior or gnome figure.

 

 

Police are launching a fresh public appeal for information, releasing a new digital facial image created from DNA technology to help identify a man whose deceased body was discovered near Nambour 12 years ago.

The man, believed to be aged between 45 and 65, was located deceased near the eastern spillway of the Poona Dam near Nambour by a workman on September 9 2008. The death is not being treated as suspicious.

Police believe the man may have been at the location for a few days, however extensive enquiries have failed to identify him.

Detectives from the State Crime Command’s Missing Persons Unit within the Homicide Group have engaged external forensic specialists to identify the likely ancestry of the man and facial characteristics through a technique called DNA phenotyping with the hopes of uncovering new leads.

The results indicate the man may have New Zealand ancestry, along with facial feature variations from an earlier facial composite, notably that he likely had green/hazel eyes.

The man is described as being of a solid build, approximately 185cm tall, balding with grey hair and having an appendix scar and four tattoos.  The tattoos are of a shark and eagle on his left shoulder as well as on his right shoulder, a woman with an American Indian headdress and what appears to be a warrior or gnome figure.

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Dario Goriup of the Missing Persons Unit said while the technology is helping investigators consider new lines of enquiry, information from the public is vital to solving this case.

“While we are keeping an open mind, current information indicates this man may have close family connections to the North Island of New Zealand, specifically the Tauranga, Bay of Plenty area,” Detective Senior Sergeant Goriup said.

“We would ask members of the public who are missing a loved one or perhaps have not spoken to a family member or friend since September 2008 to consider this information, take a good look at this image and if there is a resemblance, please contact police.

“All it could take is one person who recognises the image or details to come forward and this could help us identify this man and find an answer to this 12-year mystery.”

The man was located wearing a red ‘Bauhaus’ baseball cap, long sleeved ‘Duchamp’ brand black shirt, ‘Aus sport’ grey tracksuit pants, white orange and grey ‘Fila’ ankle socks and a pair of ‘Cougar’ white, navy, silver and orange sandshoes. A brown leather ‘Fox’ satchel was discovered next to his body.

 

LATHLAIN

 

 

MISSING PERSON – UNIDENTIFIED ADULT MALE – LATHLAIN WA – 07/MAR/1998

CASE DATE: SATURDAY 7 MARCH 1998 LOCATION: LATHLAIN

WA Police Force Senior Constable Jen Robinson led the search for a family member, a friend-anyone who might have known the man but found no one.

Although ‘John Doe’ has been missing since 1998, we do not know if he is missed.

It shows that missing persons – even those police cannot identify – are never completely forgotten.

The Major Crime Squad Missing Persons Unit is again calling for public assistance in their investigation into the identity of a man killed on Saturday 7 March, 1998.

The man died instantly after being hit by a northbound train between the Burswood and Victoria Park Train Stations about 11.20pm.

Despite extensive inquiries over the last 20 years, the man has not been identified. In an attempt to discover the identity of this man, DNA and fingerprinting testing was undertaken and ran both domestically and internationally. He was even profiled on the national crime show ‘Australia Most Wanted’ in the hope that someone would recognise him and the circumstances surrounding his death – this was not the case.

Senior Constable Jen Robinson organised a funeral for the unknown man in 1999 and wants answers as much as anyone. “We just wanted to be able to say to his family ‘we did give your son a farewell.’” Jen continues “The seventh of March doesn’t go by without me thinking of him – it’s like Remembrance Day for me.”

The man is described as having fair skin, aged between 20 and 40 years of age, slim to medium build, between 170 and 175cm tall, hazel eyes and balding with ginger/blonde hair. He was wearing a green/blue business shirt, green trousers, brown belt and black Rivers brand shoes.

Attached is a composite image of what the man is believed to have looked like. The second image is a still photograph from an ABC simulated footage showing what the man was wearing at the time.

Cast your memory back, were you near Burswood or Victoria Park Train Stations in Perth on 7 March 1998?  Did you know someone who went missing around that time? You may have a small piece of the larger picture.

If anyone knows the identity of the man or has further information about this case, please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make an online report below. You can remain anonymous if you wish.