It took 31 years to identify: ‘the woman with the flower tattoo’whose the dead body had been found in bottom of a river her Antwerp she was a British woman who had left for Belgium in 1992, as announced today by Interpol.

More specifically, on June 3, 1992, the body of a woman was found in the river “Groot Schijn” near Ten Eekhovelei in Belgium. The woman appeared to have been killed violently. Her most striking feature was a tattoo of a flower with ‘R’Nick’ written underneath. For three decades, the victim remained anonymous.

Having exhausted all possible leads and suspecting that she may have come from another country, the Belgian authorities submitted this case to Operation Identify Me, hoping that the woman’s tattoo would jog someone’s memory.

Rita Roberts, 31, was identified in 2023 by her “black flower tattoo on her left arm, with green leaves and the name ‘R’Nick’ written underneath,” according to a statement from the International Criminal Police Organization.

“Several days after the start of Operation Identify Me, a member of her family in the UK identified the tattoo in the media and notified Interpol and the Belgian authorities, via the Identify Me website,” explained Interpol, which was believed to be victim had moved to Antwerp from Cardiff in February 1992 and was not heard from after sending a postcard in May 1992.

In November 2023 the Authorities announced her official identity

Through this unprecedented campaign launched in May, Interpol is appealing to the public to help identify the bodies of 22 women who have been found for decades in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and to advance investigations into these “cases that they are frozen.” Specifically, Interpol is publishing on its website and social media a selection of information that was previously for internal use only and included in its “black ads” related to the identification of human remains. Almost “1,250 contributions” have already been collected from citizens.

In the case of Rita Roberts, her relatives “officially identified” her, Interpol explained.

“While it was extremely difficult to accept the news, we are grateful to know what happened to Rita,” the family explained in a statement.

Research in progress

Now, “Belgian authorities are asking the public to help clarify the circumstances of Rita Roberts’ death” and any information can be provided “via a form on the Interpol website”.

Police in Belgium are appealing to the public for any information they may have about Rita Roberts.

He was about 1m70 tall and had a stocky build. She was light-skinned and had medium-length dark hair. Her teeth were in good shape. On her left forearm, she had a tattoo of a black flower with green leaves and “R’Nick” written underneath.

He was wearing a t-shirt (dark blue, purple and light green) with ‘SPLINTER’ and ‘1990’ written on it, dark blue Adidas training trousers with three green stripes and dark size 40 ‘DAG’ walking shoes.