The American Jornal of Forensic Medicine amd Pathology HO) 28-27, 198. © 1989 Raven Press. Lu, New York Seafaring Bodies Johan Christopher Giertsen, M.D., and Inge Morild, M.D. Cases involving two bodies that had drifted for at least 500 ‘A body may naturally drift a long distance in a big km on the high seas are described. river. This is also possible at sea, depending on the Key Words: Drowning—Sea, missing bodies— Floaters direction of the prevailing current. Recently, we ex- amined two bodies that had drifted for at least SOO km oon the high seas. CASE REPORTS Case 1. The captain of a Norwegian fishing vessel notified the police that a body had been observed floating in From the University of Bergen, The Gade Insitute, Department of Forensic Medicine, Bergen, Norway, Profesor J..G.) and Senoe Lecturer (LM) in Forensic Medicine ‘Address correspondence and reprint requests 10. Morild, M.D. FIG. 1. The man in case 1 fell overboard at point 1) University of Bergen, The Gade Insitute, Department of Forensic WS found at point 1b. The man in case 2 fell overboard at Mosicine, $021, Bergen, Norway. point 2a and was found at point 2b.26 J. C. GIERTSEN AND I. MORILD \ x FIG. 2. The body in case 1, as found. the Norwegian Sea northwest of the city of Alesund (Fig. 1, point 1b). The fisherman did not have the time to pick up the body and return it to the mainland, so the body was moored to a marker buoy and left to be picked up by the Norwegian Coast Guard. The body was fully clothed, but without shoes or boots (Fig. 2). There was considerable decomposition and adipocere formation, The hands were missing (Fig. 3) and the eyes and the skin of the head had disap- peared. There were no teeth and no tattoos or scars. As far as could be ascertained at autopsy, all of the body's internal organs were normal. Due to the adi- ppocere formation, it was estimated that the body had been lying in the sea for 4-6 months. AA lighter and a penknife were found on the body, ‘but no papers or personal possessions that could serve as identification. As there were no teeth, an odonto- logical examination was out of the question. However, several of the man’s clothes were labeled “Made in Denmark,” so the Danish police were contacted. It turned out that, 44 months earlier, a 41-year-old fish- erman had fallen overboard from a fishing vessel on the Fladen Bank, east of Scotland (Fig. 1, point 1a). The description of the body fit this man, and the body's clothes were identified by the missing man's family, so FIG. 4. The body in case 2, as found. the body was regarded as having been identified. This body had thus drifted for ~500 km in the sea in 44 months. Case 2. The body of a lightly clothed man (Fig, 4) was found floating in the sea near the Norwegian coast southwest. of Bergen (Fig. 1, point 2b). Large defects had been caused by marine animal attacks (Fig. 5). His front teeth had fallen out, but the molars were present. There ‘were no scars or tattoos. Autopsy revealed normal or- gans. It was estimated that his age was ~30 years and that his body had been in the water for 4-6 weeks. No papers or personal possessions were found on. the body and the clothes were not labeled. However, a few Danish coins and a keyring labeled “Made in Denmark” were found. Consequently, the Danish po- lice were contacted. It turned out that, 28 days earlier, a 30-year-old fisherman had fallen overboard in the Lim Fjord in Denmark (Fig. 1, point 2a). This fisher- man’s dental record was obtained, enabling a positive FIG. 3. Case 1. There was considerable decomposition land the hands were missing. Am J Borne Med Paro. Fo 10, i 11980 FIG. 5. Case 2. Mutilation was the result of marine animal attacks.SEAFARING BODIES a7 identification of the body. The distance between the Lim Fjord and the point of discovery is ~500 km. DISCUSSION Both of these bodies had drifted northward in the Gulf Stream. Originating in the Gulf of Mexico, one branch of this stream crosses the Atlantic Ocean to the British Isles, passes through the British Channel, and turns northward along the Norwegian coast. The de- cedent in case 1 may have drifted in a more or less straight line, Due to local currents, the decedent in case 2 may have initially drified north and east of Den- mark into the Skagerrak area between Norway and Denmark before drifting west again and north. If so, the total “sailing distance” may have been considerably more than 500 km in 28 days! This is feasible because the speed of the currents is 0.3-0.8 knots/h, These two bodies were identified. Occasionally, however, a body is brought in from the high seas and remains unidentified because there is no indication of where to search for information. When a person falls overboard on the high seas, the person's home country is notified, but no international registry of such missing persons exists. If regional international registries of persons missing at sea were established—in Europe, for example, by Interpol—more of these floaters might be identified. This would imply that the missing per- son's home country automatically had sent all available information about the person to the international reg- istry. However, would it be possible to reach an inter- national agreement on this? o Am, Borensc Med Pathol. Vol 10,8 1.1089