Interpol seeks public help in solving 46 cold cases of unidentified women found in Europe
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) launched a new campaign last week seeking the public’s assistance in solving 46 cold cases involving women whose bodies were discovered between 1982 and 2021.
Interpol’s objective through the “Identify me” campaign is to resolve 46 unsolved cases where the victims, all women, were found dead in six European countries, including France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
“Despite extensive police investigations, these women remain unidentified, and evidence suggests that some of them may have come from other countries,” Interpol stated in a press release. “Their identities, origins, and reasons for being in these countries are unknown.”
Interpol issued a Black Notice for each victim, and while these alerts are intended solely for law enforcement, Interpol has released excerpts of the notices for the public to review.
Alongside these extracts, there are details about each case, including facial reconstruction images, with the hope that someone may recognize them and help determine the circumstances that led to their deaths.
One of the cases, for instance, is known as “The woman in the well,” dating back to August 6, 1991.
On that day, a woman estimated to be between 30 and 55 years old was discovered in a rainwater well in Holsbeek, Belgium.
She was wearing a beige/brown knitted cardigan, a t-shirt with black vertical stripes, an image of two surfers and three palm trees with text reading, “sun-surf-sea,” and dark plaid shorts.
Police also indicated that the woman’s body may have been in the well for up to two years before its discovery.
Another case, known as “The body in the bog,” was opened on October 14, 2001, when the body of a woman between the ages of 20 and 30 was found in a bog in the Worringen quarter of Cologne, Germany.
Police stated that the woman is presumed to have had a dark complexion and black hair with interwoven artificial hair.
Her body was discovered by a mushroom picker, and it is suspected that it had been there for at least four months prior to its discovery, although police added that it may have been present for up to four years.
Experts reconstructed the woman’s face in April 2002 to gain an understanding of how she may have looked at the time of her death.
For each case, police have provided a link that people can click to contact Interpol and the police agency of the specific country where the body was found.
“We need your help to solve these cold cases,” Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock stated in a post on X. “Our goal is to identify these deceased women and provide answers to their families.”