In a public appeal issued on 11 November 2026, police asked for information that could help identify a man whose body was found at the Mittelplate oil platform at the North Sea Employees at the facility off the coast of Dithmarschen had spotted the body, washed ashore, at around 9.40 am on 9 November. The man’s identity and the circumstances of his death remain unknown, according to the Itzehoe Police Directorate .
The Heide Criminal Investigation Department is leading the investigation. It is asking anyone who might recognise the deceased from his features or clothing to come forward. Information can be given to the department on 0481 940. According to police, officers from the Hamburg Water Police and Brunsbüttel are also involved.
Investigators estimate that the man was aged between 50 and 60 and around 1.75 to 1.85 metres tall. He had fair skin, blue eyes and short grey hair. Police describe his short beard as about ten days’ growth. He had a scar on his left index finger and two warts on the back of his head. He was wearing a gold ring on his left ring finger.
Police believe the clothing may also help identify the man. He was wearing a light grey jacket with dark grey sleeves and a dark grey collar. The logo “cic” was on the left side of the chest. Underneath, he had a dark blue fleece jacket, a grey long-sleeved top with English wording and a white T-shirt. He was also wearing dark blue jeans with a black belt, black socks and black shoes, size 42.
The body was found in the Wadden Sea off the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein. Mittelplate is an oil drilling and production island in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation describes it as the national park’s only oil production platform. The location where the body was found alone does not show where the man entered the water or how long he was in it. Police did not provide this information in their appeal.
The description includes estimated characteristics such as age and height, as well as details of clothing and jewellery. Information relating to just one of these details may therefore also be relevant to the investigation. Police initially released neither the man’s name nor any information about his origin. They also gave no cause of death.
According to the Itzehoe Police Directorate, the investigation concerns both the man’s identity and the circumstances of his death. The information released so far does not indicate whether the cause was an accident, a crime or something else.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).