A man found dead in Rivington has been identified after a year-long investigation.
His family have been informed but asked police not to publicly identify him.
On December 7, 2023, the body of a man was found in a field in Dean Brook, near to Horrobin Lane.
The man had a dark goatee-style beard, cropped dark but slightly greying hair, and was of medium to large build. He was wearing a green ‘Fox’ jacket, black ‘Slazenger’ tracksuit bottoms, a white/grey ‘Soulcal & Co’ t-shirt, and green coloured wellington boots. He was also wearing a distinctive orange coloured ‘Casio’ digital watch. He had no obvious tattoos or scars.
After a painstaking investigation, including liaising with other forces, the NCA and Interpol, utilising appeals, local enquiries, facial recognition, fingerprints and DNA, the man was identified using familial DNA after they were located in another country.
The man’s death is not being treated as suspicious, and further work is being conducted to establish the cause of death.
DI Paul Price, of South CID said: “We know that you will have seen a number of appeals over the last year, including on ‘Cause of Death’, and I wanted to be able to provide you with an update.
“I also wanted to thank you, the public, for all the assistance you have provided following our appeals in sharing information with us. Your assistance is invaluable in helping us with our enquiries, and I am so relieved that the man has now been identified and can be reunited with his loved ones.”
