A cold case charity is appealing for information about a man who was found in the North Sea 28 years ago. The body of “North Sea Man”, discovered off the coast of Germany in 1994, has never been identified – but several clues suggest a Bristol connection.
Locate International believes the man was aged between 45 and 50 at the time of his death, having suffered a “catastrophic blow to the side of the head and rib cage”. The charity lends specialist assistance to searches for missing and unidentified people and produces award-winning podcast The Missing.
The body of the unidentified male, who is thought to have stood at between 187cm and 197cm tall, was found weighed down by two 3kg iron cobblers feet – tools used by cobblers in the repair of shoes – which were tied to the belt of his trousers.
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A stamped mark reading “AJK” suggests that these were made locally, by a cobblers tool company which went out of business in the 1960s. The man’s size 11 shoes also have a Bristol link, having been reheeled with heels made by Dinkie Heel PLC, Bristol. But his nationality remains unknown.
Found around seven months after he died, the apparent murder victim was too badly decomposed for investigators to say conclusively what colour his hair or eyes were. But his navy-coloured trousers and perhaps his blue-and-green tie were made in France.
Locate International are seeking anyone who lives or has lived in Bristol, who may be able to assist their investigators piece together the identity of the man dubbed “the gentleman” by German authorities.
Charity CEO Dave Grimstead said: “At this point in time there are seemingly lots of disparate threads linking this unique case to many countries and cities around the world. We want to try and jog the memory of anyone who might know something or have even the smallest bit of information, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
“If we can give this person a name, we can notify any family and friends that may be wondering what became of him and offer them some peace of mind. With just one person’s help, we may be able to find answers to the mystery of what happened to this unfortunate man after nearly three decades.”
More details about the case – including new evidence derived from modern forensic techniques – can be heard in an episode of The Missing dedicated to the case.
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