On June 16, 1977, a man’s body – dressed only in beige swimming trunks – washed up on the beach in Allonby.
Over 45 years later, he has still never been identified.
It may never be known if he had a family, or children or friends waiting for him – or even if today there are still people out there wondering what happened to him.
For now, he remains lost to time and is one of only two long-term John Doe cases recorded in Cumbria.
The men lie in unmarked graves and decades continue to pass without anyone coming forward with information.
Cases like these always spark dozens of questions.
Did the police at the time consider foul play? Did he go for a swim and get lost, or did he fall from a boat? Surely there must have been someone, anyone, who recognised him?
It’s the unknown that keeps us hooked and fascinated – how does a person become so lost they are never found?
According to Missing Persons UK, there are four general explanations.
The first is that a person becomes lost due to an accident, misadventure or a condition like dementia.
An individual may also become unintentionally missing for two reasons – they have changed plans or forgotten to tell someone where they are or becoming a victim of a crime like abduction or murder.
A person may also become intentionally missing due to personal reasons like mental health, financial worry or relationship problems.
Around 2,675 adults and children were recorded as missing in Cumbria between 2020 to 2021 – the latest figures available – 1,423 of which were recorded as male.
Most of them are found by police and only a small number are never reunited with their loved ones.
Because Allonby’s John Doe was found in the 70s, resources available to find missing people were not as advanced as they are today – making it much harder to find his loved ones.
Nowadays, police go through a series of checks including DNA comparisons, fingerprints, dental records and other methods to find a match.
If a body or remains still cannot be identified after checks they are added to the UK Missing Persons Unit where police can search, add or change missing persons cases as years go by.
Some of the cases, including the two from Cumbria, have sketches or e-fit images of what a person may have looked like.
The Allonby man is described as thin with brown eyes, short brown hair and a brown moustache.
He was believed to aged 20 to 40 and around 6ft and white – although it was possible he was of foreign origin.
In his pocket, he had a Yale key made by the dominion lock company of Canada, with string and a small chain attached bearing a yellowed white elephant charm.
The second Cumbrian John Doe case saw the decomposed body of a man wearing a full suit wash up on Workington’s coastline.
Found 12 years on from Allonby’s John Doe in August 1989, he was thought to be white and around 30, to 50 years of age.
He was wearing a blue ‘St Michael’ blazer with brass buttons and slip on shoes, a black shirt, an olive green plastic belt and purple underwear.
It isn’t known what hair or eye colour he had, or if he had any facial hair, but he was thought to be of medium build and about 5ft 8in.
Despite this, police continue to indefinitely appeal for information on them and publicity remains vital in bringing forward new breakthroughs, sighting and information in all missing persons cases – including very old ones.
A spokesman for Cumbria police said: “Cases such as these, involving unidentified deceased people where the discovery dates back several decades, are subject to periodical review within the constabulary.
“These reviews will study the evidence and look to see if there are any lines of enquiry which could be further pursued.
“If new information is received at any other time we will also carry out enquiries to see if that can be useful to help us confirm an identity.
“We also consider any new technology or techniques whenever they become available to aid our reviews of these cases.
“These enquiries all feature a person at the centre of them who may still have loved ones who do not know what happened to them – so we will always work where we can to provide closure in these cases.”
Anyone with information about these cases can contact Cumbria police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.
You can also report details to the National Crime Agency here: https://www.missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/home.
