Police launch international campaign to uncover identity of 46 deceased women

The ‘Identify Me’ campaign has been launched by six countries and Interpol to solve up to 46 cases of unidentified women whose remains were found across Europe years ago. Some of the cases date back decades, with unsolved murders dating back to the 1990s. This call for citizen participation is a fundamental part of international cooperation to solve cases that had been left open and obtain justice for the families of these women, most of whom were murdered or died in suspicious circumstances.

This initiative builds on the success of the ‘Identify Me’ campaign call in May 2023 to identify 22 deceased women, which was responded to by around 1,800 citizens. The campaign has now been expanded to include more unsolved cases from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands , as well as new participating countries: France, Italy and Spain.

The appeal highlights the importance of citizen participation and international cooperation in resolving  cases that had been left open. It offers hope of finding crucial clues that could identify more women in these cases and obtain justice, if it is determined that they were murdered.

British case of Rita Roberts suspended for 31 years

This initiative has already yielded positive results, with a case that had been pending for 31 years being resolved . Two days after the launch of the first phase of Identify Me on 10 May 2023, relatives of Rita Roberts called the hotline from the UK after recognising the woman’s tattoo on the news.

Rita Roberts was 31 years old when she left Cardiff, Wales, in February 1992. Her family last heard from her in May 1992, and her unidentified body was discovered in Antwerp on 3 June 1992. An inquest determined that she had been murdered. This is emblematic of the international effort to seek information, identify these deceased women and seek justice.

7 CASES OF UNIDENTIFIED WOMEN IN SPAIN

Information about each of the cases, as well as facial reconstructions of some of the women, has been posted on Interpol ‘s ‘Identify Me’ website . There are also images of objects, such as jewellery and clothing, that were discovered in the various land and water environments where the remains were dumped.

These cases highlight the difficulties involved in identifying human remains, often found years ago in remote or isolated places, as well as the challenge of following the trail of some of the deceased back to their countries of origin.

Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock said : “Even the smallest piece of information can be crucial to solving these cold cases. Whether it is a memory, a clue or an anecdote, the smallest detail can help uncover the truth. Citizens can be the key to finding out a name or a past event and to obtaining justice after a long time.”

National Police Inspector Francisco Javier Álvarez, head of Group 5 of the Interpol National Central Office in Spain, explains: “Spain is participating in Operation ‘Identify Me’ with seven cases of unidentified women who died violently, which are being investigated by different police forces. All results generated within the framework of this operation will be coordinated through the Interpol National Central Office in Madrid.”

FOREIGN INSIGHTS AND INTERPOL BLACK NOTICES

Since 2021, Interpol has provided investigators with a new global tool, the I-Family database, containing some 20,000 profiles from nearly 80 countries. This tool has already been used to solve cases, identifying bodies through the international comparison of biological samples from family members based on their DNA profiles .

These cases were solved thanks to the voluntary contributions of DNA profiles made by relatives of missing persons, and their resolution highlights the important role played by citizens and their collaboration in the identification of missing persons.

Interpol has issued a Black Notice for each of the unknown women, in order to gather information about the unidentified bodies and to determine the circumstances of their deaths. Although these notices are addressed exclusively to the police, as part of the ‘Identify Me’ campaign Interpol is publishing extracts from the Black Notices it has issued for the first time.

These notifications may contain information about the location where the body was found, biometric data (DNA profiles, fingerprints, facial images), odontograms, physical or clothing descriptions, and any other data relevant to the identification of the deceased person.

Citizens who remember a missing friend or relative are urged to check the Interpol website and contact the relevant national unit if they have any information. For biological relatives who believe one of the women could be the person they are looking for, they can contact their local police, who can then contact Interpol to conduct an international DNA profile comparison.