UK UK - London, WhtMale, 50-70, aka Brian Wallace, traffic accident, '15

[Grungster]

I have no idea if there is already a thread on this guy, but I can't find one. Anyways, here's the story.

This guy was struck by a vehicle in a road collision in London on 1/22/15. He had been living under the name "Brian Wallace" in London since 2004-2005. He had been working as a general builder. He may have had a sister living in Neasdon, North West London, and his family may have lived in Sheffield.

Would love to hear more information about this case, news articles, news reports, etc.

 

[dalsglen]

Can find so little about this. So sad he's still unclaimed

 

[Grungster]

Believe it or not, hes unidentified. Brian Wallace cannot be verified to be his namr

 

[Bit of hope]

I have no idea if there is already a thread on this guy, but I can't find one. Anyways, here's the story.

This guy was struck by a vehicle in a road collision in London on 1/22/15. He had been living under the name "Brian Wallace" in London since 2004-2005. He had been working as a general builder. He may have had a sister living in Neasdon, North West London, and his family may have lived in Sheffield.

Would love to hear more information about this case, news articles, news reports, etc.

Is there any indication of his age? Found it. Brian Wallace

Sex Male
Race White
Location London, England
Found January 22, 2015
Unidentified for 5 years
Postmortem interval <1 day
Body condition Unknown
Age approximation 50- 70
Height approximation 172 cm (5'7"-5'8")
Weight approximation N/A
Cause of death Vehicle accident

 

[Bit of hope]

UK Missing Persons Unit An unknown male was struck in a road traffic collision on 22/01/2015. He is believed to have been living under the name of Brian WALLACE in London for the past 10 years as a general builder. It is suggested that he had a sister who lives in Neasdon, North West London and the rest of his family live in Sheffield.
Hair
Grey
Facial hair
Moustache
Eye colour
Unknown

 

[Bit of hope]

The question is off course why did he choose to use another/not his own name?
Avoiding child support, debts, criminal background, bad reputation for whatever reason, not wanting to be found by family, possible children searching for their bio-dad or repercussions by enemies. It could have been all sorts of reasons....

 

[Melt71]

Still unidentified as of January 2024

www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/24066941.walthamstow-pub-crash-victim-still-unidentified-9-years/

Since their last appeal, volunteers at the charity have exhausted all leads to more than 400 potential 'Brian Wallaces' and various name variations. However, their search has so far proved fruitless.

 

[Fake Protagonist]

Locate International has just identified him as Bryan Alwyn Woolis, originally from Ripley in Derbyshire.

Decade long mystery of Derbyshire man killed in London finally solved

Excerpt from the above article: "It is unclear if Bryan had children, or a partner, but he is believed to have been close to someone named Sylvia, who worked in country and western venues in the Nottingham area. We are now actively trying to trace her, and anyone who knew her."

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Locate International has just identified him as Bryan Alwyn Woolis, originally from Ripley in Derbyshire.

Decade long mystery of Derbyshire man killed in London finally solved

Excerpt from the above article: "It is unclear if Bryan had children, or a partner, but he is believed to have been close to someone named Sylvia, who worked in country and western venues in the Nottingham area. We are now actively trying to trace her, and anyone who knew her."

I hadn't seen the identification reported through Locate - it wasn't mentioned on our weekly all-hands meeting on Tuesday evening.

However, it looks as though the future will be one of collaboration between police forces and volunteer teams for many cases. The SLT at Locate have spent a LOT of time over the past couple of years negotiating with the UK's police forces and coroners to put in place agreements whereby our investigation teams will be able to have access to the police and coroner files rather than having to work entirely with publicly-available information. A few of our people are also assisting Interpol and other non-UK LE with investigating leads and suchlike.

There's also a facility now whereby the families of missing persons can apply direct to Locate and request help with finding their friends and relatives.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

The Locate website has this update on and tribute to Bryan following his identification:

Bryan Woolis — Locate International

locate.international

 

[The4TierBridge]

I found it curious that in his father’s 2016 obituary, Bryan is already listed as being deceased. https://www.legacy.com/uk/obituaries/derbyshiretimes-uk/name/alwyn-woolis-obituary?id=44552272

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I found it curious that in his father’s 2016 obituary, Bryan is already listed as being deceased. https://www.legacy.com/uk/obituaries/derbyshiretimes-uk/name/alwyn-woolis-obituary?id=44552272

Yes. Clearly they had found out somehow that he was dead but presumably they either had no other information or for some reason or another did not try to find out when or where he died. If there had been a rift or falling out, it's possible nobody in the family was bothered enough to make enquiries.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

MSN

The Guardian

The invisible man: Bryan died in an accident in 2015. Why did it take 10 years to identify him?​

 

[Melt71]

MSN

The Guardian

The invisible man: Bryan died in an accident in 2015. Why did it take 10 years to identify him?​

Fascinating (pages long) article, thanks for posting @TootsieFootsie For those who can't view it, I've snipped just a few lines.

Residents remembered a courteous, private figure who rarely, if ever, spoke of his personal life. Some even recalled a name. Brian Wallace was a reliable handyman who spoke with a slight northern accent. He might have mentioned family in Sheffield, though no one was exactly sure. The phone he had been carrying on the night of the accident had only work numbers saved in the contacts. His flatmate was of little use. The two men had barely ever exchanged more than pleasantries, though there had been a vague reference to a sister in Neasden, a few miles across north London.

and that there was a DNA hit on his file for some time, the

investigation was not particularly complicated. The fact of the partial DNA hit had sat hidden in the case file for years. It seemed strange that no one from the Met had thought to follow up in the previous decade.

A little more family background

Bryan had moved to London in the early 2000s and his sister had once lived in north London. The three siblings were not close, though there had been periods of sporadic contact over the years. Bryan had been a gregarious, popular figure in his youth, though prone to low moods and frequent periods of isolation. He had liked the casual camaraderie of the pub. The rest was spotty. A rumour had reached them that Bryan had died, which explained the aside in the obituary. Despite their estrangement, confirmation of his fate was still painful.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

and that there was a DNA hit on his file for some time, the

This strongly suggests that he had been known to the Police at one time, which may explain why he took such efforts to remain under the radar, such as being paid cash in hand. That strongly implies he was paid literally in banknotes in his hand at the end of each week.

Presumably he did not have a valid passport at the date of his death since it would have to have been renewed within the preceding 10 years. Nor is it likely that he had a valid driving licence. Credit card-sized photo driving licences have been standard issue since the late 1990s and also have to be renewed every 10 years.

 

[The4TierBridge]

This strongly suggests that he had been known to the Police at one time, which may explain why he took such efforts to remain under the radar, such as being paid cash in hand. That strongly implies he was paid literally in banknotes in his hand at the end of each week.

Presumably he did not have a valid passport at the date of his death since it would have to have been renewed within the preceding 10 years. Nor is it likely that he had a valid driving licence. Credit card-sized photo driving licences have been standard issue since the late 1990s and also have to be renewed every 10 years.

His DNA was a partial match to a sibling I believe.