The identification of a man found dead in the Florida Straits, after a journey from Cuba, has become a necessity for US authorities, who have been unable, since 2022, to determine the identity of the person in their morgue.
"Cases like this are very complicated," said US Border Patrol agent Adam Hoffner to Local 10 News.
To identify the body, which arrived at the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office along with another person, the Sheriff's Office of that county, the medical examiner, and the Coast Guard Investigative Services are working together.
According to authorities, on August 5, 2022, a boat capsized with over a dozen people on board. Twelve people were lost at sea, and only two managed to survive.
To advance in the process of recognizing the body of the deceased Cuban, the authorities resorted to forensic art.
An artist, also of Cuban origin, is in charge of providing clues in this process of identification.
"We found an artist that I was able to locate in the state of Florida," Hoffner said. His name is Fernando Gajate and he is an officer at the Sea Ranch Lakes Police Department and a retired captain from the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
In his resume, Gajate has solved several cases thanks to his drawings.
"The body was well preserved. They had taken some images," Gajate said about this particular case. "I don't want to take any artistic liberties," he mentioned.
Additionally, he pointed out: "Being from Cuba, I understand the difficult situation of migrants and the desperation they feel."
It is estimated that the man is approximately 1.68 meters tall and has particular earlobes. Authorities believe that the sketches will help with his identification.
Hypothetically, authorities estimate that he and the other migrants left Cuba around July 28, 2022.
The contact methods for anyone with information are the phone number 954-541-4744, the email address mip-mmp@cbp.dhs.gov, or reaching out to Janine Stanwood on Twitter or Instagram @janinewplg.
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