More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
One freezing night in February 1984, a middle-aged man lay down to sleep in the derelict gate house of Ingress Abbey, trying to shelter from the cold.
He never woke up.
Police investigating the man’s death at the old Abbey near Greenhithe found no wallet, and he carried no documentation. His fingerprints were not on file, and no dental records could be matched to him.
Warning: this story contains images some readers may find disturbing
His identity a mystery, and all avenues seemingly exhausted, the man joined the growing list of nameless dead who lie in unmarked graves across the county.
More than 30 years on, are there family members still desperate to know what became of their father, husband, or brother who died that night?
A website set up by the National Crime Agency (NCA) aims to bring peace to those still searching.
“Somebody, somewhere, must know who this person is, so if we can get those details into a public forum then it enlists the help of the public to recognise a tattoo, jewellery, whatever it might be” - Sherri McAra
The UK Missing Persons Bureau holds the details of 26 unidentified bodies found across Kent since 1971, many of which washed up along the county’s coast.
Where it is deemed appropriate, the website displays images of the dead in the hope that someone will recognise them.
Faces, jewellery, tattoos or clothing are posted alongside sketches of how people may have looked in life, in case anyone recognises a distinctive feature or possession.
With the permission of the bureau, we have reproduced selected photographs here.
Warning: Graphic images below
“The website is there to try to bring some peace to families," says Sherri McAra, a tactical analyst for the NCA’s Missing Persons Bureau.
"It provides a way they can actively help in the search for their loved ones.
“Often when we’ve spoken to families of a missing person they feel quite helpless, and the website provides that tool for them to take an active part in the search.
“Somebody, somewhere, must know who this person is, so if we can get those details into a public forum then it enlists the help of the public to recognise a tattoo, jewellery, whatever it might be.”
In the majority of cases, when a body is discovered, identification is straightforward. Often police will already have an idea who the dead person may be.
And even if they are not carrying a mobile phone or documentation, there are fingerprints and dental records to run through databases, or distinctive clothing and possessions that family and friends may recognise.
But in a few cases, identification becomes more complicated, and other techniques are needed to bring closure to families.
In our interconnected modern world, it seems hard to believe people can disappear at all.
Certainly, many of the unidentified bodies do pre-date the internet, widespread surveillance and mobile phones.
But in 2007 a young man fell 150ft from the viaduct in the middle of Folkestone. He has never been identified.
According to Sherri McAra, despite modern technology, identifying the dead can still be extremely difficult.
“With CCTV, automatic number plate recognition cameras, mobile phones, and with our banking systems, it should be harder and harder for people to go under the radar, but it appears not to be.
“We have a high number of people who do go missing, and most return safe and well, but some don’t and that includes a few unidentified people.
"It’s a very sad situation. Their family and their friends don’t know where they are, they’ve got nobody who will remember them, and they are buried in unmarked graves" - Sherri McAra
"It’s a very sad situation. Their family and their friends don’t know where they are, they’ve got nobody who will remember them, and they are buried in unmarked graves"
It is particularly challenging when bodies wash up on Kent’s beaches. With its proximity to the North Sea and the English Channel, there have been several grim discoveries along the shoreline.
The tide can bring people who died off the coast of France, or even further afield, to Kent, and the Missing Persons Bureau has partnered with equivalent agencies in Belgium, Norway, France and Germany in an effort to coordinate searches.
Interpol is another organisation whose databases can be scoured for clues. But what about cases where there is no entry at all?
“If someone isn’t known on police databases it can be very hard to identify somebody, and that is where the website comes in to support those investigations”, says Sherri McAra.
And if family or friends do think they recognise someone, DNA evidence can be crucial.
"I’ve no doubt that in the future there will be new techniques and methods that we can’t even think of now that will help us identify some of these individuals” - Sherri McAra
Because of this, unidentified bodies are rarely cremated, and local authorities have the responsibility of laying them to rest with as much dignity as possible.
Sherri McAra said: “You see a number of cases on our website are older cases, and they may be from times when forensic information was not readily available or properly understood. It’s only in the last ten years that DNA has come into its own.
“We are encouraging forces to review a number of their longer term cases to go back and revisit these older cases and apply these new techniques.
“We are hopeful a number can still be solved, and I’ve no doubt that in the future there will be new techniques and methods that we can’t even think of now that will help us identify some of these individuals.”
When they are buried, the lonely funerals of the unknown dead are conducted by a minister, who says a few words in the presence of a council officer.
No headstone is erected, but the location of the grave is recorded in a police file, waiting for that crucial shred of evidence, or spark of recognition, that may once again give that person a name.
For more information visit the National Crime Agency's UK Missing Persons Bureau website. If you need to talk to someone in confidence, call the Samaritans on 0845 790 9090.
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