Lady in Dutch seashore chilly case named after 21 years

A girl whose physique was discovered on a Dutch seashore in 2004 has develop into the fourth individual to be named via a world police marketing campaign known as Operation Identify Me.

The lady was named on Friday as 35-year-old German citizen Eva Maria Pommer. She was recognized following a tip-off to police within the Netherlands.

The explanation for demise stays unexplained, and police are persevering with to research.

Operation Identify Me was launched in 2023 to search out the names of ladies who had been murdered or died in suspicious or unexplained circumstances in six European nations.

Known as “the woman with the German keys”, Ms Pommer’s physique was found mendacity in sand dunes on a distant seashore close to town of Wassenaar in July 2004. There had been no apparent indicators of harm or wrestle.

The BBC visited the seashore final yr, the place Dutch forensic investigator Sandra Baasbank stated Ms Pommer was carrying brown plaid leggings and crimson shiny patent sneakers – “unusual if you are going for a walk on the beach”.

She had additionally been carrying a key that linked her to the German metropolis of Bottrop, near the Dutch border.

But police had been unable to hint the important thing to a exact handle, and her identification remained a thriller for 20 years.

Last yr, they added the case to Operation Identify Me, which has seen Interpol “black notices” – searching for details about unidentified our bodies – launched to the general public for the primary time, and information comparable to fingerprints shared with police forces world wide.

It has additionally seen renewed publicity for the unsolved circumstances.

After an attraction linked to the marketing campaign aired on German TV, Dutch police obtained a “crucial tip” a couple of German lady who had been lacking for about 20 years.

This “accelerated” investigations in Bottrop, and DNA testing later confirmed Ms Pommer’s identification.

Interpol, the worldwide policing company, says elevated international migration and human trafficking has led to extra individuals being reported lacking outdoors of their nations, which might make figuring out our bodies tougher.

Interpol secretary basic Valdecy Urquiza stated: “This latest identification is more than just a milestone in our ongoing campaign – it’s a testament to what we can accomplish when nations stand together.”

Janny Knol, commissioner of the Dutch National Police, stated: “In combination with perseverance of Dutch and German detectives yet another woman has been given a name.

“Our ideas are with all of the households who’ve lastly obtained solutions about their family members and with the households who’re nonetheless ready for these solutions.”

The first woman to be identified as a result of the involvement of the public through the Interpol-coordinated initiative was 31-year-old British citizen Rita Roberts, who was murdered in Belgium in 1992. Her family identified her after seeing a photograph of her tattoo in a BBC News report.

A woman found dead in a poultry shed in Spain in 2018 was then identified as 33-year-old Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, from Paraguay in South America.

Last month, a woman whose body was discovered by the side of a road in a different part of Spain in 2005 was named as 31-year-old Russian national Liudmila Zavada.

Police are still trying to find the identities of another 43 women found dead in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain.

The majority of them are homicide victims, believed to have been aged between 15 and 30 years previous. Most died 10, 20, 30 and even 40 years in the past.