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Now the mystery man will go to his grave with a name
By Ben Holt A MYSTERY man who killed himself in Calderdale has been dramatically identified just days before he was due to be buried in an unmarked grave.
The tattooed man, found hanged in Horsehold Wood, Hebden Bridge, over a year ago, has been identified as Robert Stephen William Poole, 28.
Coroner's officer Daniela Condon had spent months trying to identify the body and trace his family but drew a blank.
Last week an inquest recorded a suicide verdict and Mr Poole was due to be buried next Wednesday without being named.
But then his sister, Zoe Cunningham-Read, contacted the coroner after seeing Robert's picture on a missing persons website.
Mrs Cunningham-Read, from Milnrow, Rochdale, said: "We are so glad we got him back. It is tragic he is gone. We will never get over it. But we'll all be there to say goodbye to him now."
The family praised Mrs Condon, who collected DNA samples and dental records and compared them to databases around the world.
"We think she is absolutely wonderful," said Mrs Cunningham-Read. "He wasn't alone for that year when we didn't know where he was. Daniela has looked after him. She was going to see him off and she never gave up.
"We would have hated it for him to be buried without anyone because we loved him and we missed him." Mr Poole was a keen climber and angler and travelled abroad for long periods so the family were not alarmed when he stopped contacting them.
Mrs Condon said: "I am just so thankful they contacted me at the eleventh hour. To say I am thrilled is an understatement."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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