Identified! Norway - Steinkjer, remains in lake, poss. connected to MP 1981,1998, July'20 - Asbjørn Foldahl

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

A weird UID case is rolling up in Norway right now. One of two missing men from several decades ago might've been found last weekend when a body was observed floating in the lake Holden in Malm in Steinkjer municipality late Saturday. The police were notified by someone who had observed what they described as a dead body near an outlet in the water. When LE arrived at the scene, they had already grabbed hold of the body and dragged it ashore.

On Monday, investigation leader Leif Gundersen at the Trøndelag police district says that LE is working hard to identify the deceased, and have narrowed the search to apply to one of two missing persons' cases - one from 1998 and another from 1981. This means that the person who was found in Holden this weekend has been missing for at least 22 years, or for as much as 39 years. The case from 1998 was stored electronically, while the older case was manually filed in a central archive, and not locally in Steinkjer.

Based on the clothing (still on the body, I assume), LE believes the UID was a man.
According to Trønder-Avisa, both mps are men and so far unnamed in the media; one was a family father from Malm who disappeared in 1998, and the other was a grouse hunter from Trondheim who disappeared in 1981. Lake Holden (locally known as Hørdin) is a reservoir for a power plant, and therefore dammed up.

On Monday, the police collected DNA samples from relatives of both men. On Tuesday, DNA will be collected from the remains, which will be compared with the reference samples collected from the families. There will also be an autopsy to establish cause of death.

Police are working on a theory that the remains were buried in the mud at the bottom of the lake and floated up when the lake was drained.

- We have no other good explanation, says Gundersen.

Gundersen describes the case as very unique. He points out that dead bodies often dissolve in water or float up and are taken by predators.


Likfunn i innsjø – kan ha vært savnet i nesten 40 år

Levninger funnet i vann i Steinkjer kan være fra tidlig 1980-tallet

Likfunn i innsjø i Trønderlag

Pårørende til savnede varsles etter funn av død person i Steinkjer

https://www.t-a.no/incoming/article22414142.ece/uavyi9/ALTERNATES/w480-layout/image0.jpeg?v=57.13

 

[ZaZara]

If I understand this well, an entire body was found floating and this might be one of two persons who disappeared in 1998 and 1981 respectively .... which leads one to expect (parts of) a skeleton?

This is very strange.

 

[Dylansmom08]

Could it be that these bodies were moved from another location and recently placed where they were found? I find it very strange that they would have remained under water for all this time seems very unlikely to me. Also, does that mean that they have identified the men?

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Could it be that these bodies were moved from another location and recently placed where they were found? I find it very strange that they would have remained under water for all this time seems very unlikely to me. Also, does that mean that they have identified the men?

Uhm, I think you have misunderstood my op. There's only one body found, and LE suspects that that body might be one of two missing persons reported in that area; one who went missing in 1981 or one who went missing in 1998.

There is no word whether or not LE suspects foul play, but I personally wouldn't be carried away with any theories of that sort just yet. Accidents do happen, people do drown and are never found. Water is a mighty force. We'll just have to wait and hear what the police have to say.

As for bodies remaining under water for a long time, well, it is strange and unusual, but not impossible. Harry Lindberg went missing in 1968, but was found in a lake nearby 39 years later. No foul play suspected. A John Doe found in Laugen lake in 2010 has been compared to missing men from 1962 and 1934. As for the condition of a body remained in body of waters, the John Doe mentioned above was found surprisingly preserved for someone who had remained in water for a considerable time, and I think the process his body went through while in water is called saponification, which "occurs best in an environment that has high levels of moisture and an absence of oxygen, such as in wet ground or mud at the bottom of a lake or a sealed casket". The transformation can begin within a month of death, and, in the absence of air, it can persist for centuries.


Back to the Doe in Holden: There hasn't been any updates yet, but it's barely been a week since the discovery. We must allow some time for the DNA results to come back.

 

[ZaZara]

Mann identifisert etter funn av levninger i Steinkjer | ABC Nyheter

Man identified after discovery of remains in Steinkjer
Police have identified the man who was found dead in the water in Steinkjer in early August.

On Saturday evening, 1 August, the police in Trøndelag received a report of the remains of remains in Lake Holden in Steinkjer municipality.

The discovery was linked to two old disappearance cases in the lake, in 1981 and 1998, respectively.

The results of the investigations show that the remains belong to Asbjørn Foldahl who was reported missing in 1981 when he and an acquaintance died after falling out of a boat on the lake, according to Trøndelag police district in a press release.

Relatives have been notified.

- It feels very good. Very good. I did not think it would happen after 39 years. We had actually put it behind us a good number of years ago. As several days, weeks, months, years passed, we gave up on getting answers. It is absolutely incredible, grandson Gunn Pedersen tells Trønder-Avisa.


BBM


RIP Asbjørn Foldahl

 

[ZaZara]

News at the time (Friday, September 25, 1981) of the accident:

– Det kjennes kjempegodt. Jeg hadde ikke trodd at det skulle skje etter 39 år

 

[YaYa_521]

News at the time (Friday, September 25, 1981) of the accident:

– Det kjennes kjempegodt. Jeg hadde ikke trodd at det skulle skje etter 39 år

Ty for the link! This article is behind a paywall. Maybe this will work for those of us without a subscription.

https://www.en24news.com/2020/08/found-after-being-missing-for-39-years.html

Snipped

Foldahl was reported missing after a fishing trip in the lake. He and an acquaintance fell out of the boat. The acquaintance was found dead after the accident, but not Foldahl.

Asbjørn Foldahl had been missing since 1981.

 

[FrostOwl]

>snip<
- It feels very good. Very good. I did not think it would happen after 39 years. We had actually put it behind us a good number of years ago. As several days, weeks, months, years passed, we gave up on getting answers. It is absolutely incredible, grandson Gunn Pedersen tells Trønder-Avisa.

Just a small correction, the grandchild is most likely a granddaughter, as Gunn is a female name.