Three words may crack 30-year unsolved case of unidentified body in woods
Three words written inside a pair of trousers could crack a 33-year mystery of a body found in woods after a storm.
Missing people charity Locate International is appealing for information about the unsolved case surrounding the skeletal remains, which were found in a UK woodland more than three decades ago.
On Tuesday, April 17, 1990 a dog walker discovered the body shortly after heavy gales had brought down a number of trees. But the man, who was found in Deepdene, a forest and park near Dorking in Surrey, has never been identified. Volunteer investigators with the charity, which looks into cold cases of missing people and unidentified bodies, believe the mystery may soon be solved.
Locate International believe he could have left Nether Hospital in Surrey, a psychiatric hospital which closed in 1994 (Locate International/Triangle News) It is not known how 'Deepdene Man' passed away, but the estimated date of his death was between 1975 and 1985. He is believed to have been between 55 and 70 years old when he died, and between 5ft 4ins and 5ft 7ins (163cm and 170cm) tall. Perhaps the most important clue was writing found on a label inside his red, green, yellow and black herringbone trousers: "n hamilton lytt 25.3.75".
Locate International's investigators strongly believe the enigmatic phrase was written in the laundry room of the nearby Netherne Hospital, and that "lytt" stands for Lyttleton, a close supervision unit at the hospital. Netherne Hospital, about 13 miles from Deepdene, was a large psychiatric hospital which closed in 1994 after being founded just under 90 years earlier.
The charity is particularly keen to hear from anyone who used to work there during the relevant dates. The man was wearing a single-breasted brown jacket with double vents at the rear, a beige v-neck jumper, brown lace-up size 8 shoes and a watch with a 1.5" white face with hour marks only. He had only a few possessions on him, including a yellow tobacco tin containing tobacco and matches, a brown leather fold over wallet, two keys on a split ring fob, a circular emblem of the Double Diamond beer brand and 53p in coins dated between 1967 and 1975.
Locate International's CEO and co-founder, Dave Grimstead, said the charity was keen to hear from anyone who had lost contact with a man matching that description in the 1970s or 1980s. He also appealed people who worked at Netherne Hospital, or who may understand the meaning of 'N Hamilton Lytt'.
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Mr Grimstead said: "If the description bears any resemblance, no matter how small, to someone you knew, or have lost touch with, please get in contact with us. No piece of information is too small: it can help confirm something we already suspect, or help open up new leads in our investigation."
The volunteer team investigating Deepdene Man is led by Jessica Halsey, who is originally from Dorking. She said: "It has been quite touching working on a case so close to home,. I hadn't heard of the case before investigating it with my team, which surprised me, having grown up in the area myself. I used to pass by Deepdene woods regularly and knew nothing about Deepdene Man. This highlights why Locate International's work and media appeals are so important. Someone in or around the local area must know something. Having worked on the case for over a year and visited the woods myself as part of our investigation, Deepdene Man holds a special place in my heart. We are passionate about giving him his name back and hope that one day we can tell his family and/or friends where his final resting place is."
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