#39: The Mystery Man on Somerton Beach

When the body of a man was found lying on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, South Australia, in December of 1948, people were shocked. This man had no identification, and all the tags on his clothing had been removed, making an investigation very challenging. The only thing found on this man was a little rolled-up piece of paper with the words “Tama Shud,” which means “It has ended” in Persian. This clue led many to believe that foul play was involved with this man’s death and that perhaps he was a spy. The authorities posted pictures of the man in newspapers in Australia and throughout the world in an attempt to identify the man. Authorities decided to bury the man without any identification…

The piece of paper found sewn into the man’s suit was ripped out of a rare book called the Rubáiyát. The police announced that they were interested in anyone who had recently sold that book or had it in their home, but for a long time, no one came forward. Eight months later, someone came into the police station stating that around the time the man was found, he found a copy of the book in the back of his car but didn’t think much of it until reading about it in the paper. That same book had a missing passage that matched the passage found on the man. There were also some phone numbers and secret codes inside the book that was never much help. The codes are yet to be cracked, and the identity of the man remains a mystery. However, in May of 2021, 70 years later, his body was exhumed to understand more…