NL01 - The girl on the parking lot

Operation Identify Me: Seeking the names of unidentified victims of murder

Case name: The girl on the parking lot
Case code: 2023-NL01

Facial reconstruction of victim.
Aerial photo of location where victim was found
Aerial photo of location where victim was found
Aerial photo of location where victim was found
Aerial photo of location where victim was found
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  • Date of death (estimated): Summer or Autumn 1976
  • Date of discovery: 24 October 1976
  • Location: The Netherlands: Former parking lot De Heul, alongside the A12 motorway in the direction of Arnhem, near Maarsbergen
  • Sex: Female
  • Estimated year of birth: 1956 – 1963
  • Estimated age: Between 13 and 20 years old
  • Height: 150 - 165 cm
  • Skin tone: Probably light-skinned
  • Hair colour: Auburn
  • Eye colour: Unknown
  • Clothing: No clothing found
  • Tattoos, birth marks, scars: Unknown
  • Jewellery: None found

The case

On Sunday 24 October 1976, hikers were walking near the former parking lot De Heul, alongside the A12 motorway near Maarsbergen, between Utrecht and Arnhem in the Netherlands. Hidden under soil and branches, they found the body of a woman, probably a young woman.

At the time, the police linked the case to a missing persons case from the same area. In 2006, the case was found to have been incorrectly linked, after which an investigation into the identity of the young woman was started. The police would like to hear from people who think they may know who the woman is.

Characteristics

The results of isotope investigation indicate a high likelihood that the girl or young woman came from Germany. She was probably born in the late 1950s or early 1960s and grew up in the Rhine valley area, the area south of Cologne and Bonn.

There are also indications that she may have come from the border area between Germany and Czech Republic (the region between Dresden and Prague). Other areas of origin cannot be ruled out.

Over a two-year period in the mid 1970s, the woman probably moved in stages from Eastern Europe (possibly Poland or Ukraine) to Western Europe (possibly Germany or the Netherlands). During this time, she may have known a period of malnutrition (probably during the last 14 months of her life).

Contact
If you have any information regarding the possible identity of this person, please contact the Dutch national police via the form below.

You can also contact them and view this case on their national police website.

 

Identify Me: NL01 - The girl on the parking lot

If you have any information regarding the possible identity of this person, please contact the national police.