Paris, Oct 8 (EFE).- Interpol on Tuesday launched a campaign to identify 46 women whose bodies were found in six European countries years ago having either been murdered or having died in suspicious or unexplained circumstances.
The operation, which in collaboration with six European countries seeks to obtain results through citizen collaboration, is a new stage of the Identify Me initiative that the international police agency launched in May 2023 with the aim of naming 22 deceased women.
The initiative resulted in the identification of Rita Roberts, a 31-year-old British woman who had left the city of Cardiff in February 1992. Her family last heard from her in May that year, and her body was discovered in Antwerp, Belgium, the following month. She was identified last year – 31 years later – after a family member recognized her tattoo from news coverage.
The initial appeal involved Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, but sources from Interpol told EFE that due to interest of other member countries, the operation has been expanded to include France, Italy and Spain.
For each of the 46 unsolved cases, some information about the women is published on the Interpol website, including images of objects such as jewelery and clothing found at the sites where the bodies were found, and for some, facial reconstruction images have been created.
Six bodies found in Spain include that of a woman found on Feb. 6, 2009 on a forest path on Mt Artxanda, near Bilbao; another wearing an owl-shaped ring that was found under a sheet on the M-127 road north of Madrid on Mar. 28 2007; and a 25-30 year-old woman found on July 9, 2019 in the water off the coast of Santa Eulalia, Ibiza.
For each of the 46 women in this operation, Interpol has published what is called a “black notice” for the police forces of the member states in order to gather information about the bodies and determine the circumstances of the death.
These notices usually contain information about the place where the body was found, biometric data (such as DNA profiles, fingerprints and facial images), dental examinations, physical descriptions of clothing and other elements.
With Identify Me, some of the data from the reports is made public with a clear objective, according to Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock: “to identify the deceased women, bring answers to families, and deliver justice to the victims.”
Stock stressed in a statement that, since police work has not yet allowed these cases to be resolved, “we are appealing to the public to join us in this effort. Their help could make the difference.”
“Even the smallest piece of information can be vital in helping solve these cold cases. Whether it is a memory, a tip, or a shared story, the smallest detail could help uncover the truth. The public could be the key to unlocking a name, a past, and in delivering long-overdue justice.”
Interpol has posted information on each of the women on its website (www.interpol.int/IM) and urges anyone with any information to contact the police. EFE
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