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EXPLAINER
How DNA cracked open the Somerton Man mystery
by Riley Walter and Dixie Sulda
After more than 70 years and countless theories, the enigmatic Somerton Man has been given a name and a history by Professor Derek Abbott from the University of Adelaide.
We unpack the discovery...
On December 1, 1948, the body of a man was found propped up on a seawall at Somerton Beach. All that was found on him was a scrap of paper torn from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam bearing the words Taman Shud meaning finished.
         THE mysterY
Image: Post-Autopsy Restoration
Police later found the book of Persian poetry it had been torn from – and the book contained a phone number and a strange code that has intrigued and baffled cipher experts for decades.
Video: 60 Minutes
The unsolved case dubbed the 'Somerton Man' captivated the world. Now  Prof Abbott has identified him as Melbourne man Carl 'Charles' Webb.
Born on November 16, 1905, Webb was an electrical engineer and instrument maker. 
         MEET Carl 'Charles' Webb
READ MORE HERE
Prof Abbott told The Advertiser that in 2011, he was given access to 50 hairs found embedded in the Somerton Man’s plaster death mask.
         A DNA RIDDLE
In 2012, researchers at the university extracted DNA from the hair, identifying part of his genetics.
In 2018, the university narrowed down the genetics to a more specific haplogroup, or group of branches on a genetic family tree. In May 2021, his body was exhumed in a new attempt to identify him.
         DIGGING DEEPER
Sunrise, May 2021
Amanda Bachmann
In 2022, Prof Abbott and Colleen Fitzpatrick from Identifinders International used genetic genealogy to build out a family tree containing more than 4000 people.
Webb was found in March 2022 as a person with no death record.
Shortly after his death in 1948, the Somerton Man’s suitcase was found at Adelaide train station with several mentions of the word 'Keane'.
          CONNECTING THE DOTS
Professor Abbot was able to trace the name back to Webb’s sister, who was married to a man named Thomas Keane.
Professor Derek Abbot
“His wife and him separated and after that we don’t know where he was. I suspect he may have been living with the Keanes or was in contact with the Keanes because that’s his sister … that would explain the clothes and the suitcase.”
Dr Fitzpatrick
Dr Fitzpatrick said there was still more to learn about the nearly 74-year-old mystery. “What I’m hoping is that the public will be engaged now and actually be able to unearth some more information on this guy.”
Swipe up to read the whole story
producer: bianca mastroianni

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