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Police appeal for information on Whitby skull
A SKULL found off Whitby over a year ago by a trawler is still baffling police.
Whitby police were contacted by fishermen on 14 February 2008, after they found the skull among their catch while trawling off the coast of Hartlepool.
You can see earlier stories about the finding of the skull by clicking onto the links:
Whitby skipper nets human skull
Tests continue on skull found by Whitby skipper
With the help of a forensic anthropologist, a facial reconstruction has been produced and police hope that someone may recognise the man from the digital images.
Inspector Tony Quinn of Scarborough Police said: "Forensic tests lead us to believe that the skull belongs to a man who died between the age of 20 and 50 and had been in the water for a minimum of 2-3 years, but could, if enclosed in a confined space, have been in the water for a number of decades.
"It is believed the man was European, most probably with North-west European ancestry. A distinctive feature of the man's teeth is that he was missing his left front tooth during life. This could have been due to trauma or a congenital absence of the tooth. Unless corrected by a dental prosthesis, the missing tooth would have made the man's face look asymmetric.
"So far scientific tests and checks against missing person data-bases have not led us to the man's identity.
"We hope that by releasing the images, someone may recognise the man and provide information which will help us identify him."
Whitby skipper Mike Besenyei skipper of the Christina and his crew were left
stunned after their trawler caught the skull, which still had its own teeth, while fishing in the North Sea.
It had been thought that the skull could belong to a body that had been buried at sea.
If anyone believes that the man is their relative, please contact police on 0845 60 60 247 who will arrange for the necessary tests to be completed.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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