Nameless no more

Forensic recreations of heads are stored in the cold-case unit of the New York City medical examiner’s office. In a city of 8.2 million, even one that’s a panopticon of video cameras, some people come to get lost and, in death, they succeed – a dozen or two stubbornly unidentified bodies each year. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

WHEN a mysterious body washed ashore in August near the Brooklyn Bridge Park’s cheerful carousel, authorities faced an unsettling puzzle.

The remains, badly decomposed after weeks in the water, offered no clues. No fingerprints, no recognisable features.