Woman in Dutch beach cold case named after 21 years
A woman whose body was found on a Dutch beach in 2004 became the fourth person to be named in an international police campaign called Operation Identify Me.
The woman was announced on Friday as 35-year-old German citizen Eva Maria Pommer. He was identified following a report to the police in the Netherlands.
While the cause of death has not yet been disclosed, the police are continuing the investigation.
Operation Identify Me was launched in six European countries in 2023 to find the names of women who were murdered or died of suspicious or unexplained causes.
The body of Ms Pommer, known as the “woman with the German keys”, was found among the sand dunes on a remote beach near the town of Wassenaar in July 2004. There were no obvious signs of injury or struggle.
The BBC visited the beach last year and Dutch forensic investigator Sandra Baasbank said Ms Pommer was wearing brown plaid tights and red shiny patent shoes; this is “unusual if you’re going for a walk on the beach”.
He also carried a key connecting him to the German city of Bottrop, near the Dutch border.
But police were unable to find a key to a definitive address and his identity remained a secret for two decades.
Last year they added the case to Operation Identify Me, in which Interpol’s “black bulletins” seeking information about unidentified bodies were made public for the first time and records such as fingerprints were shared with police forces around the world.
It also saw renewed publicity for unsolved cases.
Following an appeal broadcast on German television in connection with the campaign, Dutch police received an “important tip” about a German woman who had been missing for nearly 20 years.
These “expedited” investigations and DNA testing in Bottrop later confirmed Ms. Pommer’s identity.
International police agency Interpol says increased global migration and human trafficking is leading to more people being reported missing outside their countries, which can make identification more difficult.
Interpol secretary general Valdecy Urquiza said: “This latest detection is more than just a milestone in our ongoing campaign, it is a testament to what we can achieve when nations stand together.”
Dutch National Police commissioner Janny Knol said: “Thanks to the insistence of Dutch and German detectives, another woman has been named.
“Our thoughts are with all the families who are finally receiving answers for their loved ones, and with those who are still waiting for those answers.”
The first woman identified through public participation through an initiative coordinated by Interpol was 31-year-old British citizen Rita Roberts, who was killed in Belgium in 1992. Her family identified the woman after seeing a photo of her tattoo on BBC News.
The woman who was found dead in a poultry shed in Spain in 2018 was identified as Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, 33, from Paraguay, South America.
Last month, the name of the woman whose body was found on the side of the road in a different part of Spain in 2005 was announced as 31-year-old Russian national Liudmila Zavada.
Police are still trying to find the identities of 43 women found dead in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain.
The majority of these were murder victims believed to be between 15 and 30 years old. Most died 10, 20, 30, even 40 years ago.
