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Police across European are reopening investigations into 46 women who were murdered or died under suspicious circumstances in an effort to identify their remains, the Interpol said on Tuesday.
“We want to ... bring answers to families and deliver justice to the victims,” Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock said in a statement.
The effort, named Operation Identify Me, expands a 2023 initiative involving Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany and brings in France, Italy and Spain.
The first phase sought to shed light on the names and fates of some 22 women whose bodies were found over the years.
That yielded some 1,800 tips from the public, including information that led to identification of British woman Rita Roberts’ remains through her flower tattoo, 31 years after her body was found in Belgium.
Within two days of the launch of the first phase of Identify Me on 10 May 2023, relatives of Rita Roberts contacted the appeal hotline after they recognized their relative’s tattoo from news coverage.
Rita Roberts was 31 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 investigation determined that she was a victim of murder. That case remains part of the international effort to request information, identify and seek justice for these deceased women.
Stock said the public’s help was crucial. “We can’t do it alone,” he said.
In the new probe involving 46 cases, police forces will pool analytical capabilities and forensic methods, such as DNA profiling and facial reconstruction.
Interpol has published on its website extracts of so-called Black Notice alerts on the cases, which are requests for information on unidentified bodies traditionally only circulated among police. The alerts include details ranging from biometric data to physical descriptions of the body or clothing.
The site adds: “Each of these deceased women has a story and relatives who deserve answers. We urge anyone with information to come forward and assist in this vital effort.”
Members of the public, particularly those who remember a missing friend or family member, are invited to consult the website and contact the relevant national police team should they have any information. Details can be found on www.interpol.int/IM.
