Police to Exhume 38 Unidentified Bodies on Texel in Search for Missing Fishermen

Police on the Dutch island of Texel are launching a major investigation to identify 38 unknown people whose bodies washed ashore over several decades.

Authorities will begin by exhuming the remains of nine people. DNA samples will be collected and compared with DNA linked to missing persons.

The investigation follows years of requests from the fishing community of Urk.

Relatives of 31 fishermen who disappeared in the North Sea between 1922 and 1997 hope DNA testing could finally reveal what happened to their loved ones.

Police spokesperson Erwin Sintenie said pressure from the Urk community played a major role in starting the investigation.

Authorities had previously faced difficulties carrying out the DNA tests because some of the unidentified people were buried alongside identified people whose graves were still protected by grave rights.

In some cases, newer graves were also placed above older graves containing unidentified remains. Authorities did not want to disturb those graves.

The unidentified bodies were found or washed ashore on Texel between 1920 and 2010 and are buried at different cemeteries across the island.

Since 2010, DNA samples have been taken from unidentified bodies in the Netherlands so they can be compared with information from missing-person cases.

This process has already helped identify three migrants whose remains were found on Texel.

In 2023, body parts that washed ashore were identified as belonging to two Afghan men aged 20 and 27.

Another body found in 2014 was eventually identified through DNA testing as a 22-year-old Syrian who had attempted to cross the English Channel.

“The message for those left behind is not good, but we are happy and proud that we were able to provide them with clarity,” Sintenie said.

Police believe Texel has a relatively high number of unidentified bodies compared with other parts of the Netherlands. Sintenie said the strong sea currents around the island could be one reason.

The new investigation could take several months.

“It is an intensive action,” Sintenie said. “Excavators and forensic investigators must go to the cemetery on the island. Everything must also be properly cordoned off.”

Police say the work will be carried out carefully because some remains are buried deep underground and several people may be buried in the same grave.

“Some dead lie deep and with several in a grave. We’re going to dig layer by layer and really want to do this right in one go.”

After DNA samples are collected, the remains will immediately be reburied.