A global appeal search has been initiated by Interpol to identify 22 women whose murders were discovered over several decades in Europe but whose cases have not yet been solved.
As part of Operation Identify Me, the International Criminal Police Organisation is collaborating with Belgian, Dutch, and German law enforcement to identify the women whose bodies were discovered dumped throughout Eastern Europe for more than 40 years.
The deaths of nine women were discovered in the Netherlands, seven in Belgium, and six in Germany, but authorities suspect they were all from somewhere else, and their bodies were dumped on foreign soil to confuse detectives.
“Most of the 22 victims died violently, and some were also abused or starved before they died, Their identities have not yet been established, in part because the women are likely from countries other than where they were discovered, said Netherlands Police spokesman Carina van Leeuwen and Martin de Wit, who announced the effort.
The cold cases are not believed to be connected as the murders span many decades, from as recently as 2019 and as far back as 1976, the agency said in a statement.
Interpol which is headquartered in Lyon, France has posted details about the victims to its website, displayed in a feature called “Black Notices,” which are formatted like scrollable digital index cards.
Each frame includes a brief description of the case, including where the body was found, along with facial reconstructions of the victim, and photographs of personal items like jewelry and clothing from the various crime scenes.
The profiles also include the victim’s estimated age at the time of death, their hair and eye color, and other unique physical characteristics in hopes that someone might recognize them.
Each unsolved mystery was given a title such as “The woman in the suitcase,” — a cold case from 2005 in the Netherlands — and “The woman in men’s clothing” — a Berlin case from 1988.
Interpol said it is prioritizing efforts to identify the women, which would increase the chances of making an arrest in any of the cases.
