University of Plymouth students form cold case unit to work on body case

Students will work together to try to identify the Salcombe Man

University students have formed a cold case investigation team, and will be helping to try to solve the mystery of an unidentified body.

The body, that of a white male, was recovered by a cruise ship, 46 miles (74km) off Salcombe, Devon, in 2021.

The University of Plymouth team is working with Locate International.

The charity is dedicated to investigating cold cases and works with people from local communities to bolster its investigations.

The case of the unidentified body was initially investigated by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, because it was brought to Southampton after being recovered from the English Channel.

Dave Grimstead said Locate International also worked with experts in areas such as forensic criminology, forensic facial reconstruction, and isotope analysis

Dave Grimstead, founder and CEO of Locate International, said solving missing person and unidentified body cases often came down to "hard work".

"If you imagine in many cases, an appeal goes on a website and it stays there and you hope it's going to reach the right person. Our goal is to really analyse that case, and then be proactive in reaching out to different groups that may have the answer," he said.

Two of the students involved with the cold case unit are also working more broadly with the International Cold Case Analysis Project (ICCAP), working with police in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Throughout the project, Christina Berz, who studies Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Emma Jackson, who is studying Law, will work on reviewing a number of unsolved murders and missing people cases, culminating in a presentation of their findings to the German public prosecutor and police representatives from forces across Europe.

Ms Berz said: "It's been a whirlwind of emotions, so first it was very like 'Oh my God, am I actually allowed to be a part of this?' because, you know, I'm just a student, so actually working on real-life cases is quite intimidating."

Locate International believes the man may have been interested in water sports due to the wetsuit he was wearing.

According to Locate International, the "Salcombe Man" was a white European of medium build male between 5ft 7in (1.70m) and 5ft 9in (1.75m) tall and between 20 and 40 years old..

He had a white crown on his right-lower molar tooth but no scars, tattoos or distinguishing marks.

He is estimated to have entered the water on the southern coast of Cornwall - from Land's End up to and including Plymouth, Devon - between 13 and 17 September 2021, seven to 10 days before being found.

He was found wearing a ZCCO 3mm full-length, medium-size neoprene wetsuit with a diagonal zip, medium Slinx neoprene gloves and socks, and unbranded, size-nine neoprene shoes.

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].