Police have released a new image based on DNA analysis. Photo / Queensland Police
Police have released a new image based on DNA analysis. Photo / Queensland Police
Police in Australia are starting a fresh bid for information on a cold case disappearance of a man who they say may be a Kiwi from the Bay of Plenty or have links there.
Queensland police have released a fresh digital image created from DNA technology to ask the public's help in identifying a man who whose body was found near Nambour, on the Sunshine Coast, 12 years ago.
The man, thought to be between 45 and 65 years old, was found dead on the eastern spillway of the Poona Dam by a worker on September 9 in 2008. There were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death but it is thought his body may have been there for several days.
Police used a technique called phenotyping to come up with the new profile. Photo / Queensland Police
Police used a technique called DNA phenotyping to come up with the new profile and say he may have New Zealand ancestry and green or hazel eyes.
He is also described as being about 185cm tall, with a solid build, and balding with grey hair. He also has four distinctive tattoos and an appendix surgery scar.
On his left shoulder, the man had a shark and eagle tattooed, while on his right shoulder, there was a tattoo of a woman wearing an American Indian headdress and either a warrior or gnome, police said.
The man has an eagle tattoo on his left shoulder. Photo / Queensland Police
The man has a tattoo of a woman in an American Indian headdress on his right shoulder. Photo / Queensland Police
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Dario Goriup of the Missing Persons Unit said help from the public was vital to solving the case.
"While we are keeping an open mind, current information indicates this man may have close family connections to the North Island of New Zealand, specifically the Tauranga, Bay of Plenty area," Goriup said.
"We would ask members of the public who are missing a loved one or perhaps have not spoken to a family member or friend since September 2008 to consider this information, take a good look at this image and if there is a resemblance, please contact police.
"All it could take is one person who recognises the image or details to come forward and this could help us identify this man and find an answer to this 12-year mystery."
Previous facial images have been produced and released as well as a photo of the man's shark tattoo but the man has still not been identified. Photo / Queensland Police
A Fox leather satchel was found next to the man's body. Photo / Queensland Police
When his body was found, the man was wearing a red Bauhaus baseball cap, long-sleeved Duchamp black shirt, Aus Sport grey tracksuit pants, white orange and grey Fila ankle socks and a pair of Cougar white, navy, silver and orange sandshoes, police said. A brown leather Fox satchel was also found next to his body.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact CrimeStoppers in Australia on 1800 333 000 or the Missing Persons Unit on the international number +61 7 3364 6213 or by emailing MissingPersons@police.qld.gov.au.
