Authorities in the United Kingdom are hoping to find the family of man, whose mortal remains were discovered in a forest in 1979.
"On December 9, 1979, the skeletal remains of a man were found in a forest in South Wales. He is believed to have died between nine and 18 months previously."
Much of the evidence points towards him having been from South Africa, or having had a link to the country," said Locate International's Roland Hughes.
He said volunteer investigators with Locate International, a UK charity that looks into cold cases of missing and unidentified people, have been working on the case of Glamorgan Man, as he is known, for the past four years.
"Now, 45 years to the day since he was discovered, they are launching a new public appeal for information in South Africa and Wales," he said.
He was quite tall, measuring in a 1.73m to 1.78m and may have worn dentures as he did not have teeth. He also had short hair, light-brown in colour with grey streaks. He had been wearing grey pants with a blue shirt and a beige/fawn jersey.
His remains were found alongside a commemorative bookmark for a Christian mission conducted in King William’s Town, now known as Qonce, by ‘Rhodes Varsity Trekkers’ which was held during Easter in 1960, A South African Airways timetable of flights from London to Johannesburg, dated 1977 and notes on an airmail envelope planning an internal flight to Durban.
"The handwriting appears to be the same as that in the Bible," Hughes added.
The man was aged between 40 and 60-years-old and was of a stocky build. Hughes said the man's right knee was fused so it is likely that he had a limp.
"A map of South Wales, which our volunteers have learned was issued by the Welsh Tourist Board, was also found, along with a small amount of Canadian and US dollars and blank headed notepaper from the Heathrow Sheraton hotel," Hughes added.
If you have any information, please contact Locate International by emailingappeals@locate.international, by calling 0300 102 1011 (in the UK) or by visitinghttps://locate.international/appeals/glamorgan-man
seanne.rall@iol.co.za
IOL