Tragic unexplained cases of the 7 unidentified bodies in our area

WEST Midlands and Warwickshire police have seven unidentified bodies in their books - with some of their identities remaining a mystery for nearly 50 years.

The UK Missing Persons Unit publish the details of all bodies found where police have no idea who they are, in the hopes that a member of the public will be able to identify them.

There are half a dozen such cases in the West Midlands area, with the oldest dating back to 1970.

On September 10 that year, a man’s body was found in a derelict house in Sandwell after he took his own life.

The police estimated that he was aged between 40 and 50, and was of Asian descent. He was 165cm tall, of thin build, and had short black hair and glasses.

He had no distinguishing features, but was found wearing a brown twopiece Burton suit, with a blue checked shirt and an orange and white pullover.

The most recent body found in the West Midlands that has left police stumped is a male that was recovered from the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Edington, at 8am on November 4, 2010.

The body was believed to have been in the water for between 23 and 44 hours.

In that case, the man was also identified as being between 40 and 50 years old, of white European descent, 170cm tall, of medium build and with greying hair and facial stubble.

The body was recovered wearing a dark jumper with white or cream horizontal stripes, and black shoes with velcro fasteners.

Most of the unidentified bodies found in the West Midlands are male, although there is also one case of a female who has tragically died with no friends or relatives to identify her.

Her body was recovered from an ornamental pool in Handsworth Park on December 27, 1974, and she was believed to have already been dead for three to four weeks when she was found.

The police placed her age at anywhere from 25 to 40, and she had an L shaped scar on her abdomen and was wearing a full set of dentures.

She was believed to be of white European descent, and had on black trousers, a pale blue long sleeved roll neck jumper, black suede shoes and a three quarter length brown fur coat.

Meanwhile, there is only one body in Warwickshire that hasn’t been identified since it was discovered.

It was recovered from the River Sowe at Mill Hill on November 28, 1997, and is believed to have been in the water for several months before it was discovered.

The police have identified the body as male, but have put the age at anywhere from 50 to 100 years old.

They say he was of white European

descent, between 174 and 175cm tall and of medium build, with facial stubble.

The body was found wearing grey trousers, a brown flecked jumper and commando style lace-up brown shoes.

The full list of the seven unidentified bodies in the West Midlands and Warwickshire is as follows (more details via the links):

Male aged 40 - 50 found on 10/09/70. Found in a derelict house in Sandwell after committing suicide by hanging. http://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/case/06024631

Male aged 30 - 40 found on 11/07/74. Found in pool in the grounds of Shenley Court School. Believed to have been in the water at least 4 days. http://missingpersons. police.uk/en-gb/case/06-024890

Female aged 25 - 40 found on 27/12/74. Female body recovered from an ornamental pool in Handsworth Park. Believed to have been dead 3 to 4 weeks. She had a full set

lllof dentures. http://missingpersons. police.uk/en-gb/case/06-023866

Male aged 25 - 35 found on 28/02/81. Body found in a hut on towpath at Minworth. Believed he may have been a local vagrant who had been seen around the area. He was possibly a pipe smoker. http:// missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/ case/06-025579

Male aged 60 - 65 found on 03/06/90. Male collapsed and died in the street in Birmingham city centre. http://missingpersons.police. uk/en-gb/case/06-025951

Male aged 50 - 100 found on 28/11/97. Body recovered from the River Sowe at Mill Hill. Believed to have been in the water for several months. http://missingpersons. police.uk/en-gb/case/07-027430

Male aged 40 - 50 found on 04/11/10. Found in canal at Erdington at approximately 0800 hours. Believed to have been in the water between 23 and 44 hours. http:// missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/ case/10-006269

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