Paraguayan Woman Identified in Spanish Cold Case Through INTERPOL Campaign

A woman found dead in Spain in 2018 has been formally identified as a Paraguayan national, following a global appeal led by INTERPOL. The breakthrough marks the first successful transcontinental match in the international agency’s “Identify Me” initiative, a campaign aimed at resolving longstanding cold cases involving unidentified women.

The body was discovered on August 4, 2018, in a poultry shed attached to a rural property in Girona, Spain. Authorities noted the woman had no identification and was unknown to local residents. A distinctive tattoo in Hebrew reading “success” on her forearm was one of the few clues. Despite an extensive investigation, her identity remained a mystery for nearly seven years.

In March 2025, Paraguayan police matched fingerprints uploaded to INTERPOL’s database by Spanish authorities with their own national records. The prints belonged to 33-year-old Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, who had traveled from Paraguay to Spain in 2013. According to family members, she lost contact with them in 2018, and a missing person report was filed in mid-2019.

The identification came during the second phase of the Identify Me campaign, launched in October 2024. The initiative circulates biometric data from unsolved cases across INTERPOL’s 196 member countries. The Girona case is one of 46 such investigations involving unidentified female bodies found across six European countries, some dating back as far as 40 years.

INTERPOL’s Identify Me campaign not only leverages international police cooperation but also calls on the public to assist with recognition efforts through publicly shared case details, including images, tattoos, and personal items. Forty-five cases remain unsolved.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from an INTERPOL press release.

---