Body Identified After 23 Years

A body which went unidentified for more than two decades after being washed up on a Norfolk beach has been identified thanks to modern detective work.

The man's body was found by fishermen on Weybourne beach in 1989. Despite a six-month police investigation he was never identified.

Villagers held a poignant funeral but the grave remained unmarked.

Now Norfolk Police's cold case team has identified the body as that of Michael Sutherland, 34, from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire.

His family have been informed and now plan to hold a memorial ceremony at Weybourne.

Detective chief inspector Andy Guy said: ``On April 19 last year an exhumation was carried out to obtain DNA from Mr Sutherland's body.

``From the teeth I got a DNA profile and put this into the missing person database and found a match.''

Mr Sutherland's sister, 67-year-old Ann Stockton, of Cleethorpes, told officers it was ``a good thing'' to be able to get closure.