00:00A face that's haunted investigators for three decades, the so-called North Sea Man.
00:08North Sea Man is a very strange, very intriguing and we think very solvable case.
00:14The man's body was found in 1994 in the waters off Germany's north coast.
00:20Injuries to his head and torso and metal weights attached to his body indicated he was murdered.
00:25Unusually tall and well-dressed in clothes purchased in the United Kingdom, his identity
00:30remains a mystery.
00:32An international network of investigators, including Murdoch University in Perth, has
00:37taken on the case, exhuming the North Sea Man's body and using isotope analysis on his
00:43bones and teeth to make a surprising discovery.
00:47They provided indications of the North Sea Man's origin, having spent a lengthy period
00:54of his life in Australia.
00:57Investigators have now confirmed they'll attempt genetic mapping in a last-ditch bid to crack
01:02the case.
01:03I think forensic investigative genetic genealogy is the perfect next step for this investigation.
01:08The technique uses DNA databases to try to make a familial match, but is currently only
01:14used as a last resort due to concern over privacy and potential misuse.
01:19Professor Jody Ward helped establish Australia's first missing persons DNA database.
01:24There is this balance between ensuring we're really utilising the technology to its full
01:29potential to identify cases that would not be able to be resolved otherwise, whilst still
01:36acknowledging the privacy concerns for those living relatives.
01:40I'm 99.9% confident that the North Sea Man can be identified.
01:49It's just a matter of how we do it.
01:50The only question, whether forensic science or a tip-off from the public, will prove the
01:55answer to this 30-year-old mystery.
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