Police try to identify man found near Cirencester
26 April 2019, 15:14
Police trying to identify a man, after remains were found near Cirencester, say they have had more than 120 calls from people with information.
The body was almost completely skeletal when forestry workers found it in May 2018, in woodland just off the A417 between Cirencester and Stroud, on the Stroud road near the Bathurst Estate.
But despite getting a DNA sample from the body, no match has been found on any database. The man also had no wallet or phone on him, making the search for his friends and family extremely hard.
Forensic examinations suggest the man was aged between 28-55 and was between five foot five and five foot eight in height. It also suggests he died between 6 to 18 months before his body was found, so most likely sometime in 2017.
Scenes of Crime Co-ordinator Martin Cuffe said: "I think any clue that can help us identify this person is vital.
"Somebody out there is missing him, it's going to be somebody's father, somebody's son, somebody's brother or even somebody's close friend and if anyone has any information we really urge them to come forward."
Officers add that they are not treating the death as suspicious, although it's not clear how the man died. They believe he may have been a walker or someone of a 'transient' nature given what he had on 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.
Police say 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 Op.Octave@gloucestershire.pnn.police.uk or online here.
