DNA match identifies Italian man found dead in Amsterdam 31 years ago
Police in Amsterdam have finally identified a man found dead on the Haringpakkersbrug near Amsterdam Centraal 31 years ago, after a DNA match confirmed he was an Italian national who had been missing since the 1990s, NU.nl reported.
The discovery ends a decades-long mystery that began when the man’s body was found on the bridge in 1993. Police determined at the time that there was no sign of foul play but launched an investigation to uncover his identity.
There was some evidence found on the man at the time, including a train ticket and travel itinerary showing he had traveled from Germany to Amsterdam, as well as a keychain bearing the emblem of PSI, Italy’s Socialist Party. The man was eventually buried without a name.
Earlier this year, Stichting Coldcasezaken, working with the Amsterdam police, reopened the case and published a photograph of the deceased in an effort to identify him. The renewed attention led to a breakthrough in May, when a valuable tip came in referring investigators to an old article on an Italian website.
In that article, a man described how his father had been missing since the 1990s. The photo accompanying the piece bore a strong resemblance to the unidentified man found in Amsterdam.
Investigators located the son through Facebook and arranged for a DNA comparison. The results confirmed a genetic match, officially identifying the man found dead in 1993 as the long-missing Italian father.
