In December 2017 Guardia Civil received notification of a rather macabre find close to the N332. The mummified corpse of a man was found in a wooded area in ​​a rural part of Benissa. The forensic tests ruled out a violent death but after months of investigation, a stroke of luck ( and perhaps a renewed effort to locate a missing man) led to the Judicial Police of Calpe, identifying that the remains were, in fact, that of Peter Mulder, a Dutch citizen, who was reported as missing in October 2016.
A stroke of luck reactivates the investigation
This case had been accompanied by a series of circumstances that were, in the end, key to the resolution. The body was found after the initial discovery of a bone in December 2017, which a pet had picked up in a remote area in ​​Benissa. The owner of the animal, an osteopath, recognized that the bone – part of a tibia – was human and alerted the authorities. In July 2018 a person contacted the editorial office of Benissa Digital saying they wished to publish the disappearance of a relative.Â
According to the family, a notice was filed on October 19, 2016 in Amsterdam that Petrus Marinus Hermannus Mulder, 63, had disappeared from his home in Benissa in January of that same year (2016). He had left no trace and no clue to his whereabouts. The family concern, after such a long period without news, obviously increased.
The photograph of Peter Mulder had spread through social networks both in Spain and the Netherlands. The family gave all kinds of profile details such as height, color of hair and eyes etc. They also highlighted the tattoos on his body. Everything that could help to identify him was made public.  Â
BENISSA DIGITAL EXPLAIN:-
“Well, this insistence of the family in their search made them contact the editorial office of Benissa Digital last July, through the Facebook social network. The information provided by the person on the other side of “the line” was key since it marked the beginning of the work aimed at contrasting the veracity of the data provided. For this, from the newspaper, the pertinent consultation on these facts was made to the Civil Guard. Let us say that the intention of the family had as its main objective the search for clues to find the whereabouts of this Dutch citizen disappeared and last seen in the Benissa municipality.”
Transferring the matter to the authorities to verify the authenticity of the facts, the head of the Judicial Police of Calpe finally tied things together. One piece of essential infomartion that the family had omitted to include in their publications on social networks and websites, was the absence of natural teeth. The mummified corpse had no dental structure. When the family questioned about this detail, the answer coincided with the information that the agents had in their possession.
Immediately, the DNA identification protocol was launched to find out if the body found was actually that of Peter Mulder. A process that lasted about a month, due to the bureaucratic and police procedures between both countries. Finally, yesterday the family was notified. The body found in December 2017 in rural Benissa was that of Petrus Marinus Hermannus Mulder.
RIPÂ
Thanks to Benissa Digital for this story
