Glamorgan man

A lot of the information I've used today has come through the Locate International website as well as the UK Missing Person's database. This episode is about an unidentified person and so does not contain any descriptions of violence. However, listener discretion is always advised. Riola Forest is in the County of Neathport Talbot in the southwest of Wales. Is located to the north of the Vale of Neath and it's named after the small settlement that's grown up around

the area. On the ninth of December nineteen seventy nine, scaltal remains were found within the Riola Forest. As these remains were skeletal, investigators struggled to find out much about who this man was. The investigators were able to ascertain that he was around forty to sixty years old, and he was about five feet eight to five feet ten inches tall. When he was alive, he would have had

a stocky build. Even though these were only skeletal remains, investigators were able to find out quite a lot about what the man looked like. He had sharp, mixed light brown hair with some gray streaks. They discovered that he may have worn dentures, as there were no teeth visible when he was found. Like with many unidentified person cases, there is often not much to be discovered from these remains. However,

there was one quite noticeable and identifiable feature. The man would have walked with a very pronounced limp due to his right leg being unable to bend due to a fused knee. For anyone that might have known this man at any point, they may recognize this as it would have been something quite specific. Aside from the man's physical features, we do actually know quite a bit about his belongings, as many things were found close to the man's remains. He had a hold all with him, as well as

a brown imitation leather briefcase. He also had gray trousers, two shirts, and a pair of green socks. It was documents that were found close to the remains, however, that have given the investigators the most clues as to where the man might have been before he passed away. The man had with him a Salvation Testament Bible which had the name D. Mallon, along with a po box in Randburg, Johannesburg in South Africa. This was one indication that there

was some sort of connection to South Africa. However, there were also more clues that this was the case. He also had a commemorative bookmark dated nineteen sixty from the Roads Varsity Trekkers Eastern Mission in King Williamstown which is now known as Quance. Another key piece of evidence was a nineteen seventy seven flight timetable from London to Johannesburg

with South African Airways. Another connection to flying was also found with his belongings, as he had an air mail envelope on which he'd written information about a possible internal flight to Durban. This handwriting seems to match the handwriting which was found inside the Salvation Bible. It would seem that the man may have made the flight to Heathrow as the timetable suggested, as he also had some branded notepaper from the Sheraton Hotel at Heathrow Airport. This was

blank with nothing recorded on it. All of these belongings suggest that this man had come from South Africa to Heathrow. However, why he did that or for what purpose was more of a mystery. Given the bookmark found from nineteen sixty, the man was either from South Africa or visited there extremely regularly. There were also indications that the man traveled regularly, though, as he had some US and Canadian coins with him,

suggesting that he'd visited those country before or recently. It appears that from Heathrow he then at some point traveled up to Wales, where he was found. He also had with him a map of Wales and the Southwest, which was issued by the Welsh Tourist Board. It seems as though the man had intended on coming to Wales for his trip, but again, for what purpose and when this

happened is unknown. From information that we do have, it appears that investigators may believe the man was in the area in nineteen seventy eight, and the medical report states that he could have died between nine and eighteen months before he was discovered. Well Kate International have compiled a list of questions which may help jog the public's memory of the man, despite how long has gone by since

the discovery of his remains. Do you remember someone fitting this description in South Wales in or around nineteen seventy eight? Were you the owner of a bed and breakfast our guest house at that time and have a record or even a memory of this man as a guest in nineteen seventy eight, regardless of how vague. Did you work in a hotel during the late nineteen seventies and remember a visitor leaving behind possessions? What happened to those possessions? Did you drive a taxi in the mid to late

seventies Was this man a passenger in your cab? Were you a chapelgoer in South Wales and the Vale of Neath in particular during this period and remember someone fitting this description, even if it was just once. Did you work in the mining industry during the mid to late nineteen seventies and possibly meet this man in your line of work? Do you remember someone who was from South Africa or who spoke of South Africa who walks with a heavy limp. Were you involved in the anti apartheid movement.

Some prominent members lived near Resolve in Wales after leaving South Africa. Did you work in the nineteen seventies with organizations concerned with the rehabilitation of prisons? And do you recall a South African working for such an organization? These questions do give us some indication about possible theories for why the man was in the area. The questions do give us some indication about possible theories for why the

man was in the area. The question about the anti apartheid movement may suggest that the man may have known some people in the area of Resolvin, which is not far from where the remains were found, had he come over to visit someone he knew from South Africa. The fact that they wanted to speak to any churchgoers also

suggest that this man may have had religious connections. Like many unidentified person cases, there is never much to go on, but actually in this case, his many belongings do paint a picture of a man who was well traveled, organized with his plans, and in possession of a way to support himself. Someone must have known this man, either in the UK or in South Africa, and this must ring

some bells to some one. Please share this information with anyone you think may know something, and if you do know something, please contact either Locate International or the Missing Person's UK Database. I will link both of these in the show notes. Thank you for listening to day six of twelve Days of Missing Person Episodes in December. Stay

tuned for Day seven in a couple of days. If you'd like to support the podcast further, then you can on Patreon and contribute to exclusive polls to get extra bonus episodes every month. You can also get access to new episodes early and ad free. You can use the link in the show notes to visit Patreon and see what we offer. You can also support us by reviewing the podcast wherever you listen, including Spotify, and also just share the episodes as our ways. I'm Caprice and this has been unseen the