An investigator in the Somerton man case says he has solved the decades-old mystery, identifying the figure as a Melbourne-born electrical engineer.
Key points:
- The mystery Somerton Man has been identified as a Melbourne-born electrical engineer
- Investigator Derek Abbott spent decades investigating the case
- The mystery began in 1948 when a body was found on Somerton Beach in Adelaide
University of Adelaide researcher Derek Abbott believes the unknown man found drowned and lifeless on Adelaide’s Somerton Beach on December 1, 1948, was Carl “Charles” Webb, an engineer and manufacturer of 43-year-old instruments.
The case has long puzzled detectives and amateur sleuths, and is considered one of Australia’s most enduring mysteries because of strange clues connected to it, including a suspicious code and a book of Persian poems.
While the mystery man’s remains were exhumed last year by SA Police, Professor Abbott has meanwhile persisted with his own independent efforts to solve the case.
He said that after using hairs from a plaster bust of the man to collect DNA evidence, researchers in Australia and America had further narrowed the search “to build a family tree containing more than 4,000 people “.
A reconstruction after the autopsy of the Somerton man. (Image: Daniel Voshart)
Working alongside US researcher Colleen Fitzpatrick, Professor Abbott said that in March this year, suspicions fell on Webb, who was born in 1905 but was later identified “as a person with no record of death”.
Professor Abbott, who spoke to the ABC about his work last week, added on Saturday that “the final pieces of DNA evidence fell into place” “triangulating Charles Webb”.
Professor Abbott said evidence from Mr Webb’s life showed he had lived in Footscray in Melbourne.
He said his investigations had also found a link to the name “T. Keane” which was printed on the Somerton man’s tie.
“It turns out that Carl Webb has a brother-in-law called Thomas Kean, who lived just a 20-minute drive away from him in Victoria.
“So it’s not out of the question that those clothes I had with T. Keane were just my hands from his brother-in-law.”
Professor Abbott also said there was a possible explanation for why the Melbourne resident was in Adelaide.
“We can’t say for sure, but we can speculate.
“We have evidence that he had separated from his wife and she had moved to South Australia, so he may have come looking for her.”
Professor Derek Abbott of the University of Adelaide says he has solved the decades-old mystery. (ABC News: Sarah Mullins)
living relatives
Professor Abbott said the team had used popular genealogical DNA databases, such as Ancestry.com, to find Mr Webb’s distant relatives.
“The first cousin we found was on his father’s side and the second cousin we found was on his mother’s side,” he said.
“So it’s a triangulation of two different and totally distant parts of the tree, so it’s very compelling.”
He said he had located and spoken to Mr Webb’s living relatives.
“I’ve spoken to them, except they’re all a generation below him and so none of them knew him and they don’t have photos in their old family albums or in their garden sheds, unfortunately.
“I hope that as his name gets out there will be someone who has an old photo album in a garden shed somewhere.”
The search continues
Professor Abbott said after more than a decade on the case, the discovery felt like reaching the top of a mountain.
“It’s kind of like climbing Everest and having this mixture of joy that you’re at the top, but also tiredness and exhaustion,” he said.
However, he said his work was not over.
“Now there is the historical work of digging further and finding out about the man’s life and his circumstances and what exactly might have led to this particular situation.
“So there’s still work to be done.”
SA Police have been contacted for comment.