Scientists responsible for bringing King Richard III’s face back to life have turned their expertise to a modern mystery.
A team at Face Lab has produced a detailed reconstruction of an unidentified man whose body was recovered from a Welsh reservoir.
Police hope the image will help identify the man, whose remains were found floating in Claerwen reservoir in mid Wales during October 2024.
Detective Inspector Anthea Ponting, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said: “I thought if they could do that from remains found 500 years ago they might be able to help us.”
The man’s DNA, fingerprints and dental records have produced no matches on national or international databases.
His badly decomposed body was discovered by a dog walker at the 650-acre reservoir, located north of Rhayader in Powys.
Investigators believe the man had been submerged for as long as 12 weeks before being found.
A post-mortem examination determined he was between 30 and 60 years old.
The team at Face Lab has produced a detailed reconstruction of an unidentified man whose body was recovered from a Welsh reservoir
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FACE LAB
His badly decomposed body was discovered by a dog walker at the 650-acre Claerwen reservoir
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BBC VIA PA
Detectives have not excluded the possibility of foul play, with his body potentially placed in the wetsuit and deposited in the water to mislead investigators.
The case has puzzled police, as no abandoned vehicle was found in nearby car parks and no clothing was located in the area.
Swimming and boating are banned at the reservoir, which supplies water to Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Detective Inspector Ponting reached out to Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University after recalling their work on Richard III’s remains, discovered beneath a Leicester car park in 2013.
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Detectives have not excluded the possibility of foul play, with the man’s body potentially placed in the wetsuit and deposited in the water to mislead investigators
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FACE LAB
DI Ponting said: “Our man has no tattoos, jewellery or identifying marks so our best hope is to see what he looked like.”
The laboratory received photographs of the body, post-mortem findings, forensic dental analysis and CT scans.
Specialists then constructed a 3D model using medical imaging software.
Dental evidence helped shape the lower face, revealing protruding teeth and a left-sided crossbite.
The reconstruction shows a man with a rounded chin, square jawline and downturned nose.
While his Zone 3 Agile wetsuit was extra large, indicating the man stood over 6ft tall and weighed approximately 202-220lbs with a 44 to 48-inch chest.
Face Lab was behind the groundbreaking reconstruction of Richard III’s face
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FACE LAB
DI Ponting said: “Thanks to Face Lab, we have now been provided with a very clear and detailed estimation of what the man looked like.”
She added: “The image has already been processed through the police national computer and has been shared with Interpol.”
Ponting said: “This is someone’s family member and I would like nothing more than to return him to his loved ones who might be missing him.”
While Caroline Wilkinson, the director of Face Lab, said: “Facial depiction from human remains can act as a tool for recognition, providing new lines of investigation in relation to identity.
“Hopefully, someone who knew this man will now recognise his face and our facial depiction can support the police to finally identify him.”
Anyone with information relevant to the case is still urged to contact Dyfed-Powys Police on 101.
