Can you solve riddle of man found dead at power station?
IT was a freezing winter morning when a young man was found hanged from an electricity pylon in a desolate and deserted area of wasteland.
A passing dog walker initially thought the lone figure was standing on a mound of mud and grass.
But as he moved closer, the true horror of the gruesome scene came into full view. The shocked witness realised the man was suspended from a strut of the huge metal tower, 10 foot above the ground at the site of the former Westwood Power Station in Wigan.
Clean and well-dressed, he was carrying £85 cash and a packet of Amber Leaf tobacco containing a few roll-up cigarettes.
In his pocket was a one-way Stagecoach bus ticket for the 600 service from Leigh to Wigan dated the previous day – 6.38am on January 14, 2013. More than four years after his death, and despite extensive efforts, police have not been able to identify him.
They hope this appeal for information will be shared on social media until it reaches the man’s family and they can finally let his loved ones know what has happened.
Det Sgt Graham Clare said: “We thought that, particularly if he was a local person, somebody would have reported him missing and contacted the police. But since that time we have had absolutely no reports.
“If he has any relatives, they don’t know he is dead and that’s the awful thing. They just won’t know what has happened to him.”
Initial fingerprint and DNA checks produced no results from any database in the UK and nobody fitting his description was ever reported missing.
Believing the olive-skinned mystery man may have been of Middle Eastern or Eastern European heritage, Det Sgt Clare broadened his search for clues. A widespread media appeal with an e-fit image was circulated nationally and internationally via the UK Missing Persons Bureau. Police even contacted Interpol in a bid to try and identify the man. Satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, and with no new clues, the case passed on to the coroner. After almost a year without answers, an inquest into the man’s death took place in February 2014. Area coroner Alan Walsh gave an open conclusion, recording simply that the man died from hanging. Four years after his death no friends or family have come forward. Det Sgt Clare, of Wigan CID, who has been working on the case since day one, said: “He had cash on him so it’s not as though he Det Sgt Graham Clare was destitute. And he was reasonably well dressed. His clothes were clean and dry although it was a freezing cold morning and very frosty. You never know what’s going through someone’s mind.”
The detective had hoped his only clue, the one-way bus ticket, would help him discover the truth.
However, CCTV from the bus company did not show anyone matching the man’s description and the driver did not recall seeing him.
The man was white, around 5ft 8ft, with short brown hair and aged in his late 20s or early 30s.
He was wearing blue Nike tracksuit bottoms, a blue padded gillet, a McKenzie hooded blue top with grey cuffs, a light blue Fred Perry T-shirt and blue Adidas trainers.
Anyone who can help identify the man is asked to call police on 0161 856 7962, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, 0800 555 111.