Queensland Police have finally identified a man found dead in the Maroochy River in November 2023 as 47-year-old Victorian man Alexander Marinis, bringing a 14-month mystery to a close.
Mr Marinis had no identification on him when his body was discovered, sparking a global search involving DNA testing, Interpol inquiries and public appeals. It wasn’t until a Centrelink employee recognised his face in a news report that investigators were able to trace his identity.
DNA testing later confirmed the match, allowing his family to lay him to rest in Melbourne in May this year.
“Great lengths were taken to identify the man… including DNA testing, door knocking, and work with Interpol around surgical artefacts in his knee,” Detective Senior Sergeant Robert Lowry told ABC News.
“While this is a tragic circumstance, I’m pleased we’ve been able to give his family some closure.”
Mr Marinis had withdrawn from family contact in 2015 and moved to the Victorian town of Yarram, where he lived a quiet, solitary life.
His mother, Maree Bergamo, said she made repeated efforts to find him — even hiring private investigators — but lost contact after he moved to Queensland in October 2023. He died just weeks later.
“Alex was an intelligent, decent and loyal person,” Ms Bergamo told ABC News. “It was distressing to know that he had been deceased for such a long time.”
Though his death has been deemed non-suspicious, the circumstances remain unclear. CCTV footage captured him days before his body was found, and his belongings – including a backpack and a Bunnings receipt – were recovered nearby. He had made two phone calls to emergency accommodation providers before disappearing from all records.
At his funeral, Mr Marinis was remembered as a gifted athlete and a kind-hearted man, adored by his family despite living much of his life in isolation.
Source: ABC News
