INTERPOL's Identify Me Campaign: 47 Cold Cases, One Success
How a European initiative to identify murdered women led to the breakthrough in 'The Woman in Pink' case after 20 years
Quick Facts
In May 2023, INTERPOL launched the Identify Me campaign in collaboration with Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. The initiative aimed to solve cold cases involving murdered or mysteriously deceased women—many of whom had never been officially identified.
The first phase opened with 22 deceased women. Within days, the campaign generated approximately 1,800 public tips, demonstrating the power of crowdsourced investigation. One case proved particularly striking: Rita Roberts from the United Kingdom was identified within two days of the campaign's launch after relatives recognized her distinctive tattoo in news coverage. That swift success validated the entire approach.
By October 2024, INTERPOL expanded the campaign to 46 cases across the participating nations. Recognizing that awareness drives results, the organization recruited celebrity ambassadors from each country to amplify the message and reach audiences who might hold crucial information. The strategy reflected a growing consensus among European law enforcement: these cases—often involving vulnerable victims—deserved sustained public attention and resources.
The 2025 update brought the total to 47 active cases in the campaign. Among them was one of the most poignant: the case of "The Woman in Pink," found in Viladecans, Barcelona, on July 3, 2005.
When discovered, the victim was dressed entirely in pink—a floral top, pink trousers, and pink shoes. She had been dead less than 24 hours. Investigators quickly determined that her body had been moved, classifying the death as suspicious. Yet despite two decades of investigation, her identity remained a mystery.
On the 20th anniversary of her discovery, Turkish police matched the victim's fingerprints to a Russian national named Liudmila Zavada, who would have been 31 years old at the time of her death. Kinship DNA analysis confirmed the identification. After 20 years of remaining unknown, "The Woman in Pink" finally had a name and a family who could mourn her properly.
