Traces of human remains found in search for Heerhugowaard man, 67, missing since 2021
Forensic investigators have found traces of human remains while searching a home in Heerhugowaard for Albert Visser, a 67-year-old man who disappeared in 2021. A 31-year-old man was arrested, the police told De Telegraaf on Monday evening. According to the newspaper, the suspect is the victim’s son and the police are searching the home he shared with Visser.
The police would not say where they found traces of human remains nor whether the suspect is indeed Visser’s son.
The son bought the home on C. van Everdingenlaan in Heerhugowaard from his father. Visser then rented a room in the home from his son, according to the newspaper. A heated financial conflict arose between the two, resulting in a lawsuit. When the case appeared in court in early 2021, Visser did not attend.
The police believe Visser was murdered inside the home on or shortly after 10 January 2021 and that his body is hidden somewhere on the premises. The date is based on the last entry in Visser’s diary, in which he recorded the meter readings every day. At the time, the Netherlands was in the middle of a coronavirus lockdown, so someone lugging something large on the street would have been very noticeable. The house is also hard to reach by car.
On Monday, the police started a large-scale search for the man’s body at the home. Around noon, two additional vans arrived, bringing forensic investigators, dogs, and prods to the scene, locals told the newspaper.
A neighbor who lives three houses down told the Telegraaf that the son still lives in the house. “It’s a sad case. Albert was a very nice man. We had good contact. It was only in recent years that he became socially isolated and alienated. I don’t understand why the police only now started looking for him,” she said.
