A woman whose body was discovered in Spain more than 20 years ago has been identified through an international police campaign.
The woman was named on Thursday as 31-year-old Russian citizen Liudmila Zavada.
She is the third person to be identified through the Operation Identify Me initiative, which was launched by police in 2023 in an effort to find the names of women who had been murdered or died in suspicious or unexplained circumstances in Europe.
Valdecy Urquiza, secretary general of international policing agency Interpol which leads the campaign, said the latest identification would give fresh hope to the families and friends of missing persons and new leads to investigators.
Liudmila Zavada's body was discovered in July 2005 beside a road in the province of Barcelona, dressed in pink clothing. The cause of death was classified as suspicious, but her identity remained unknown until this year.
Thanks to an initiative aiming to reconnect missing persons with their identities, the investigation saw recent collaboration leading to a match with family in Russia. Police investigations into the circumstances surrounding her death are ongoing.
As Interpol continues its efforts, they aim to identify numerous other women whose cases remain unresolved across Europe.
