Police release artist's impression of man after body found in Perranporth

Detectives investigating a suspicious death in Perranporth, Cornwall, have released an artist’s impression of the man they are trying to identify.

A member of the public discovered the man’s body on the beach near the Watering Hole bar at around 2pm on Tuesday 25 February.

He is described as white, aged 50-70, of thin build, 5ft 5ins to 5ft 7ins, with white receding hair which was bald on top, and a thick white bushy beard.

DCI Dave Thorne, Senior Investigating Officer, Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “We believe the artist’s impression is a true likeness of the man we are trying to identify.

“As you can see from the image he has some distinctive features including a bushy white beard and white receding hair.

“It’s been a week since his body was found on Perranporth Beach and his identity is still a mystery.

“By releasing this image we are hoping that someone will recognise him and come forward with his name, allowing us to progress with the investigation and bring us a step closer to finding out what has happened to him.

“He is someone’s brother, father, uncle or friend and someone somewhere will be missing him.”

Following a forensic post-mortem examination, conducted on Friday 28 February, the death is being treated as suspicious.

Multiple injuries were found on the body which are not consistent with drowning and cannot be easily explained.

Police believe he was in the water for no more than 24 hours.

Police have released a series of photographs of items found on or near the body. These include the exact brown walking shoe worn by the deceased.

A black and white woolly hat and a rucksack were both found on Perranporth Beach on the same day as the body. The rucksack is described as blue/grey on the front and black/blue on the back. It has dark green webbing.

Another item is a photograph of a small boy which was found in a black wallet in the pocket of a dark navy-blue Regatta jacket nearby. There was a date on the back of the photograph of 13 April 1952. It is unclear what this date refers to. It could be a date of birth or the date the photograph was taken.

The jacket was found on the beach on Wednesday 26 February.

These items may or may not belong to the man. If they do not, detectives would like to eliminate them from their enquiries.

All of the images can be viewed on flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/devon-cornwall-police/sets/72157641792574233/

The set of keys also found by officers searching the area has been claimed by their owner and eliminated from enquiries.

DCI Thorne added: “Finding out the identity of this man is key to the investigation. Without knowing who he is, it is very difficult to establish the circumstances surrounding his death.

“Perranporth is a small community which attracts a variety of people and we are hoping someone will have seen something that could unlock this mystery.

“If anyone knows who he is from the details given, or has seen someone on Perranporth beach on Monday or Tuesday last week matching his description, we’d like to hear from you.

“We also urge anyone with any information relating to the items found on the beach, however insignificant it may seem, to get in touch.”

Anyone who recognises the man pictured, or has any information that could assist with the investigation, is asked to call police on 101, quoting log 381 of 1 March. Alternatively contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Credit: artist Teri Blythe, Human Identification and Forensic Art Consultancy Services.