‘Girl in the River Main’ identified after 25 years, father arrested

The girl in the River Main. (Interpol)

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DIJON, FRANCE - A teenager nicknamed “The Girl in the River Main” after her body was found floating in Germany a quarter-century ago bearing signs of abuse has finally been identified, leading to her father’s arrest, Interpol said Monday.

The girl was named as Diana S, aged 16, the organization said, adding that she had been “violently assaulted.”

The victim’s father, a 67-year-old German national, was placed in pre-trial detention on suspicion of murder last Tuesday.

The case is the latest to be solved by the international police organization’s cold cases campaign “Identify Me,” launched in 2023 and tasked with identifying women who were found dead across Europe in recent decades, murdered or in suspicious circumstances.

The teenager was found by passersby on July 31, 2001, in the River Main in Frankfurt.

Her body was wrapped in a brown leopard print bedspread and weighed down with a parasol stand, according to a “black notice” alert issued by Interpol in 2024 to revive the investigation.

“The girl had sustained multiple injuries, pointing to prolonged and severe maltreatment,” the alert said.

“These include fractures to both upper arms that had healed in the wrong position,” Interpol said, also pointing to signs of “possible sexual abuse.”

The girl’s left ear was also deformed by violence, and she had numerous burn scars, some of which were consistent with cigarette burns.

Citing forensic examinations, Interpol said the teenager might have come from Afghanistan, Pakistan or northern India, and moved to Germany early in life.

The teenager remained unidentified for two decades, but following the public appeal, several tips from members of the public allowed investigators to pursue new leads, said Interpol, which is based in the French city of Lyon.

The case marks the sixth successful identification linked to the Identify Me campaign, which is still trying to solve 41 cases.