Facial reconstruction technology creates face of man whose skull was found in Sydney in 2001

Extraordinary technology gives a face to a human skull found by children in bushland nearly four decades after the man mysteriously died

  • The unidentified male skull was found by children in Sydney’s south-west in 2001
  • Detectives believe the man died aged 35-45 between the years 1980-1985
  • Sophisticated facial reconstruction technology determines what he looked like

Sophisticated facial reconstruction technology recreated the face of a man whose skull and bones were found in dense bushland almost forty years after he died.

The unidentified male skull was found by children in St Helen’s Park near Campbelltown in Sydney’s south-west in 2001.

The remains suggest the man was between 35 to 45 at the time of his death, that he was fit and healthy, and of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent.

Children who were playing in the area found the skull, which had been partially exposed in the elements.

The remains suggest the man was between 35 to 45 at the time of his death, that he was fit and healthy, and of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent

Sophisticated facial reconstruction technology recreated the face of a man whose skull and bones were found in dense bushland almost forty years after he died

One of the boys took it home and gave it to his mother, who reported it to police, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Officers scoured the bush and surrounding areas, which at one point was private property, and found further bones.

By the end of the search, they had found almost an entire skeleton, but were no closer to identifying it.

In 2018, Australian investigators still researching the case reached out to the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee in Scotland to help digitally recreate the man’s face.

By the end of the search, they had found almost an entire skeleton, but were no closer to identifying it

By the end of the search, they had found almost an entire skeleton, but were no closer to identifying it

Officers scoured the dense bushland and surrounding areas, which at one point was private property, and found further bones

Officers scoured the dense bushland and surrounding areas, which at one point was private property, and found further bones

The program is known to be a world leader, and after almost a year, NSW Police have released a digitally reconstructed image of the man they believe is the victim.

They’re hoping the image may job the memories of people who came in contact with him prior to 1980, or people who may remember a long-forgotten missing persons case from the same era.

‘There was ample DNA which has been tested against all the known data bases in NSW and other states without luck,’ Detective Senior Constable Maria Feher said.

‘We hope the image may spark a memory from around that time of someone they knew who went missing.’ 

Shoes and other personal items were found near the bones (pictured), but they were never matched with a person

Shoes and other personal items were found near the bones (pictured), but they were never matched with a person

Police are no closer to discovering whether the man was murdered or if he died of natural causes, but say there is no trauma to the body which is indicative of stabbing or gunshot wounds.

There were some fractures to the skull, which may have been caused as the body decayed in the natural elements. 

A coronial inquest into the man’s death was held in 2004, but the findings were inconclusive.

Police have attempted to work through the list of official missing persons from the time they believe the man died, but say there are still a number of leads they are investigating. 



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