Can you identify mystery man whose body was found on country estate?

By Ben Fitzgerald - 10 April 2019

CommunityCrime

Police are appealing for information following the discovery of human remains near the Bathurst Estate in Cirencester last year.

A forestry worker discovered the remains of a man close to the A419 Stroud Road on the afternoon of Tuesday 1 May. Police are appealing for information that may help identify the individual.

Officers have completed their initial investigations but have been unable to identify the man despite all of the necessary forensic and DNA examinations taking place.

It’s believed that the remains had lain undiscovered for at least twelve months and this is why we are now asking for the public’s help.

Following reports from both a forensic Anthropologist and Odontologist, we believe that the deceased was a white man between five foot five and five foot eight inches tall who may have been of a large build.

These reports also suggest that the man was around 28-31 years old however it is hard to know for definite so he could have been anywhere between the ages of 28 and 55.

We have recently used the services of an expert in facial reconstruction to create an image of what it is believed the man looked like and we hope that this will also help to identify him.

When found the body was clothed in a black/dark grey Peter Storm raincoat, a grey/blue short sleeved shirt (with hand stitched repairs), a black gilet and blue trousers with a dark leather belt.

Dark trainers with a white sole and a beige baseball cap were found next to the body.

A small Sony wireless FM radio, aviator sunglasses, a wind up torch and a Karrimor rucksack (which had a white plastic bag covering it in an attempt to waterproof it) were nearby and these are distinctive items which may help to identify him.

No personal items such as a mobile phone or identification were found and because of this we would say that the man was isolated and of a transient character.

Due to the location where the remains were discovered, it's believed that he may have been travelling between Cirencester and Stroud; this leads us to think that the he may have regularly travelled between different areas of the county.

It was previously thought that the individual may have been a homeless man who is known to the area but this is no longer the case.

A police spokesperson said: "We understand that it may be hard to think back this far but if you know of someone who matches the above description that you haven’t seen for some time, or believe that you've previously driven past this man within the county please let us know by calling 101 and quoting Operation Octave."

Information can also be submitted via email at [email protected] or online form: http://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/operationoctave

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