Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mystery that has plagued South Australia for many years, the case of the Somerton Man. Now, just a disclaimer, DETECTIVES, if you don’t wish to see the photo below or hear about the case, please feel free to skip this one.
On December 1st, 1948, an unidentified man was found lying in the sand on the beach of Somerton Park, a seaside suburb. His head was resting against the seawall, his feet were crossed, and his legs were stretched as he lay on his back. He also was wearing a formal suit but he had no identification and no witness recognized him.
When the body was taken to the hospital, a few items were discovered with him. In his right coat collar, there was an unlit cigarette and in his pockets, second class rail and bus tickets, gum, cigar packets, and aluminum comb. Aside from having no ID, the doctor who performed the autopsy stated that the man’s foot was twisted, his liver was quite swollen, and his eye pupils were smaller than usual.
The unknown man also had a suitcase with items that had the name tags out, making it even more of a challenge to identify him. One of those items also had this note with him and there was an unknown and unsolved code with him that still puzzles police to this day. The brown suitcase was found by staff at the Adelaide Railway Station and was officially destroyed in 1986. When investigators tried to figure it out, the best result they were able to come up with, was “Ended” or “Finished.” There have been several theories as perhaps the mystery man was a spy but none had been followed out. Who was this man and what this note could have possible meant?
I hope you have enjoyed this storytime as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want to have more storytime! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post; until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!
Detective Writer 