Mystery of man found dead in Birmingham canal who nobody seemed to miss

An appeal has been launched to identify a man found dead in a Birmingham canal after nobody came forward for more than a decade. The man’s body was found in the Fazeley canal near to Wheelwright Road and Tyburn Road in Erdington at around 8am on Thursday, November 4, 14 years ago in 2010.

The man is believed to have been in his 50s. He was wearing a dark-coloured jumper with white horizontal stripes, black shoes, with Velcro fasteners, and brown socks.

He was 5ft 7ins tall, with stubble and greying brown collar-length hair. West Midlands Police said: “Extensive enquiries were carried out in the area at the time but he remains unidentified.” The man had no ID, did not match any of the missing people at the time and no reports have been made about him since the force said.

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Now the police have released a new e-fit image, after working with specialists, to show what the man would have looked like in a bid to jog people’s memories to help identify the man. Officers are determined to identify him.

Detective Constable Darryl Towle, from the force’s Unresolved Missing Persons Investigation team, said: “Despite all of our hard work, this is one of our longest-running cases. Our aim is always to find out who these people are to help them, their families and friends, find peace.

“A post-mortem examination found that the man died from drowning and an inquest was held which allowed him to be laid to rest. But that’s all we know about him."

Brumwish 2024 - buy a gift for a child in need

BrumWish 2024 is Birmingham Live's festive drive to get thousands of gifts to children and young people across our city - among them the homeless, the vulnerable, kids in care, kids who are poorly or struggling, and kids who have little.

There are THREE simple ways to help.

1. Buy a new gift from the Brumwish 2024 Amazon giftlist. In just a click your donation will be whizzing its way to our volunteers at Edgbaston Stadium.
2. Donate money to the appeal fund hosted by Thrive Together Birmingham - this will help pay for gifts for kids with specialist needs or specific wishes.
3. Buy a gift and, even better, rope in friends, neighbours and workmates to do the same, then drop off your pressies at Edgbaston Stadium, Edgbaston Road, B5 7QU on Friday 6th December, 10am - 3pm; Saturday 7th December, 10am - 1pm; or Monday 9th December, 10am - 1pm. Volunteers will be there to help you. Please don't wrap your gifts. You can also drop off by arrangement until Monday 16th December - contact Louise on 07469 979286.

Thanks to our partnership with #Toys4Birmingham, every single gift will find a good home in the loving care of a child living in B&Bs or hotels, hostels or refuges, children receiving support from specialist organisations and charities, and families being supported by children's centres and charities around the city.

Making up the Brumwish and Toys4Birmingham gang are Thrive Together Birmingham, Birmingham Playcare Network, Warwickshire Cricket Foundation (the charitable arm of Warwickshire County Cricket Club), Birmingham Forward Steps and BirminghamLive/Birmingham Mail.

Thank you to Amazon UK and the amazing team at the Sutton Coldfield depot for their support.

The statement continued: “He had no identification on him, he did not match the description of any missing people and he has never been reported missing. Fourteen years on we’re still determined to find out who he was and trace any family or friends.”

A force spokesperson added: “If you recognise him, tell us what you know via Live Chat on our website westmidlands.police.uk quoting reference: PID: 33246. You can also call us on 101.”