©Wouter Vrijs via Unsplash
A breakthrough has been made following a grim discovery on Texel.
After years of investigation, the human remains that washed ashore on Texel in October 2023 have been identified as those of two Afghan men, aged 20 and 27. The North Holland police were able to confirm their identities after a DNA match with family members in Afghanistan, as they confirmed to NH.
Alert beachcomber on Texel
The discovery was made at the time by a beachcomber, who found lower legs with clothing on them and later also a shoe with a foot inside it. Because a phone with a French SIM card was found in one of the men’s pants pockets—and because items belonging to migrants frequently turn up on beaches in North Holland—the police quickly suspected they were boat refugees.
A needle in a haystack
For years, international DNA databases yielded no results, nor did the search for missing persons in the Netherlands. It wasn’t until aid organizations around the English Channel alerted the police to two missing Afghans that the Red Cross in Afghanistan was able to collect DNA samples from family members, which led to a match last month.
Boys’ Families Located
The next of kin have since been notified. A family member told NH that there is “both sadness and relief” now that there is finally certainty about the fate of their loved ones. The men’s remains were buried on Texel in an unmarked grave. The police describe the investigation as unique and say they are particularly glad that the uncertainty for the family has been lifted after such a long time. Exactly how the men died and how their remains ended up on Texel is not part of the investigation. It is therefore likely that the bereaved will never find out exactly what happened.
©Wouter Vrijs via Unsplash - illustrative image