Woman in Dutch Seaside Cold Case Named After 21 Years

A woman discovered deceased on a Dutch beach in 2004 has been identified as the fourth individual to be named through an international police campaign called the Identify Me operation

The woman was identified on Friday as 35-year-old German national Eva Maria Pommer from Germany Her identity was confirmed after a tip-off to authorities in the Netherlands

Her manner of death is still undetermined, and investigators are continuing to investigate

Operation Identify Me was launched in the year 2023 to find the names of women who had been killed or passed away in suspicious or unexplained circumstances in half a dozen European nations

Referred to as "the woman with the German keys", Ms Pommer's body was discovered resting in sand dunes on a secluded shoreline near the city of Wassenaar in summer of 2004 There were no clear indications of injury or struggle

The victim was wearing plaid brown trousers and red shiny patent shoes – "atypical if you are going for a walk on the shore"

Authorities also discovered she possessed a key that connected her to the German municipality of Bottrop, close to the border with the Netherlands

However police were could not link the key to a specific location, and who she was remained a mystery for twenty years

The previous year, they included the investigation to the Identify Me operation, which has seen Interpol "black notices" - seeking information about unknown victims - distributed to the general population for the initial instance, and data such as fingerprint data shared with police forces globally

It has also seen renewed publicity for the unsolved cases

Following an appeal associated with the initiative aired on German television, Dutch police obtained a "vital lead" about a German woman who had been unaccounted for for about two decades

That information "accelerated" inquiries in Bottrop, and DNA testing subsequently verified the victim was Eva Maria Pommer

Growing global migration and trafficking of persons has led to more individuals being reported missing outside of their home nations, which can make identifying bodies more challenging

"This latest identification is more than just a milestone in our continuing effort - it's a testament to what we can achieve when countries stand together"

"In combination with perseverance of Dutch and German detectives yet another woman has been identified"

"We sympathize are with all the families who have at last obtained information about their loved ones and with the families who are continuing to await for these resolutions"

The first woman to be identified as a result of the participation of the community through the globally coordinated initiative was 31-year-old British citizen Rita Roberts from Britain, who was killed in Belgium in 1992 Relatives identified her after seeing a photograph of her tattoo in a news report

A woman discovered deceased in a poultry shed in Spanish territory in 2018 was then determined to be 33-year-old Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima from Paraguay

Last month, a woman who was found by the roadside in a different part of the Spanish nation in 2005 was named as 31-year-old Russian national Liudmila Zavada

Law enforcement are continuing efforts to find the names of 43 additional female victims found dead in the Dutch region, Germany, Belgian area, French zone, Italy and Spanish locale

Most of them are murder victims, thought to be aged fifteen and thirty years The majority died 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years ago