Police drawing blank on dead cyclist's identity

The woman was wearing a tiki and a black T-shirt featuring an image of a gold crown.

Four days after a woman's body was found face-down in a creek after a bicycle accident, police remain mystified as to her identity.

Hamilton police have released pictures of her clothing and a tiki in the hope a member of the public will recognise them.

The woman does not match any missing persons reports, and fingerprinting and DNA samples, which can only match with people already processed by police, have provided no further clues.

Detective Senior Sergeant Karl Thornton said in his 22 years of policing he had only had a handful of similar cases, and none of them remained nameless for more than a week.

"Whoever this woman is we need to be able to bring closure for both her and her family's sake," he said.

The woman, described as a Maori or Polynesian in her early 30s, crashed into a tree at the bottom of a steep path in Edgecumbe Park, Whitiora, before being flung into the creek.

She was found dead in knee-deep water on Sunday by two teenagers taking a break from their church service at Hamilton Central Baptist. Police believe she was riding through the public reserve overnight.

Chief Coroner Judge Neil MacLean told the Herald the case was unusual given that the body had been found within a day and had strong visual clues. Mr MacLean said it was more common for authorities to struggle when the remains were damaged in an accident.

"I've never known of any case in recent times where somebody's never been identified. We are small enough that eventually someone says 'I wonder where Dad is'?

"We don't have the situation like in big cities overseas where someone lives on the street, utterly alone, no one knows them, no one misses them."

Coroners nationwide believed the woman was the only body awaiting an identity in the country at this time.

The most likely candidate for a nameless body was a homeless person, or a tourist who kept irregular contact with family in their home country.

But Hamilton coroner Gordon Matenga said the homeless were often known to police, or locals, because they were seen regularly in public spaces.

Furthermore, tourists could be identified because their details were collected at their point of entry to the country.

The police missing persons department, which crosschecks all its reports with Australia, solves the vast majority of cases within 48 hours.

Unidentified bodies were more common after a mass tragedy, such as a multiple car accident or civil disaster. After the Erebus disaster in 1979, in which 257 people died, 23 bodies did not get positive identification.

In the wake of the Tangiwai train derailing in 1953, 21 people remained completely unidentified, most of them recent arrivals to New Zealand who had no relatives or local medical or dental records.

HAMILTON'S JANE DOE

* Aged early 30s
* Maori or Polynesian descent
* Frizzy short to medium length hair
* Medium build and about 176cm tall
* Wearing light green tiki
* Black T-shirt with light-coloured writing and a gold crown printed on it
* Anyone with information on who the dead cyclist is can call Hamilton Central Police Station on 07 858 6200. Alternatively information can be left anonymously on the Crimestoppers crimeline, 0800 555111.