Detectives are puzzling over the identity of a man whose wetsuit-clad body was found floating in a remote Welsh reservoir – but with no indication of how he arrived there.
It is now four months since a member of the public spotted the body in the vast and isolated waters of Claerwen Reservoir on the morning of 18 October.
Local residents who frequent the surrounding Powys countryside say they have never seen anyone swim in the reservoir, which was described as “such a lonely place” rarely visited by tourists.
As a result, police suspect that the body may have gone undiscovered in the reservoir for up to 12 weeks. By the time it was found and taken for examination, the corpse was highly decomposed, with DNA and fingerprint testing failing to find any matches.
But it is the absence of any further indication of the unknown man’s presence at the reservoir which police say is “highly unusual”.
Despite it being a seven-mile walk to the nearest bus stop, detectives have found no abandoned car or bicycle – or even any clothes or personal belongings such as a phone or wallet.
All that is known about the man is that he was white, aged between 30 and 60, and was wearing an extra large Zone 3 Agile wetsuit, “which equates to the wearer possibly being 6ft-6ft5” tall, about 202-220lbs with a 44–48-inch chest”, police said.
“It is an unusual situation to be three or four months down the line,” Detective Inspector Anthea Ponting of Dyfed-Powys Police told the BBC.
“In my experience, there are not many missing people cases where we haven't identified the person or identified loved ones after this period of time.”
Detectives have asked other police forces across the UK to check their missing person registers, and have also spoken to Interpol, the international criminal policing organisation.
Alan Austin, the chair of a local rambling group, told the broadcaster that he has “never” seen anyone swimming in the water of Claerwen Reservoir.
“It can be extremely dangerous,” he said. “The water can get very cold, water from the reservoir pours over the dams when it’s been raining.”
Rosemary Stow, who runs the nearby craft gallery Quillies, said most tourists do not venture past the visitor centre in the nearby Elan Valley, adding: “You don't see a lot of cars up at Claerwen dam or in the car park below, it is such a lonely place.
“People here are asking, has he been dumped there? But if he was dumped why put him in a wetsuit?”
Det Insp Ponting said police were keeping an “open mind”, and said: “It is not a known swimming area but that doesn’t mean it doesn't happen.”
Issuing a fresh appeal for information, Det Insp Ponting said her team was continuing “to work towards finding out who he was, any family and what happened to him”.
She said: “We would still like to hear from anyone who has visited the Claerwen reservoir, or the surrounding area, between the beginning of July 2024 and October 18, and haven’t spoken to police yet.
“We also continue to appeal for anyone who does have information – who thinks that something mentioned could relate to a missing person in their own life/or who they may know – to come forward.”
