Bryan Woolis

News comes in today as the well respected charity Locate International solve another case of an unidentified missing male, known as Brian Wallace with his true name, Brian Woolis.

Locate international are a charity I absolutely adore, not only are they passionate about the same things I am passionate about, but they also get results and today is no different.

As I was scrolling through twitter I saw a tweet by Locate International confirming that “Brian Wallace” had been identified as Bryan Wollis 10 years after his death. The team at locate international along with a local officer have worked together to finally solve Brian’s mystery.

So what is Bryan ‘s story?

On Thursday, 22 January 2015, Bryan Wallace crossed the road when he was struck by an oncoming vehicle, which sadly resulted in Bryan’s deaths. Locate international sadly revealed that Bryan was on a few metres from the front door of his shared flat above shops on Chingford Road. Which the police did identify early on into the investigation.

As Police looked to prosecute the driver of the vehicle, Bryan’s case would remain open as his true identity was not yet known.

The search of the flat

Searching Bryan’s shared flat, police found he had very little possessions and that there was no ID left in his home. They did find however some photographs showing Bryan aboard a canal boat, looking around with curiosity. This photograph will be released on the UK Missing Persons Unit website (UKMPU) in the efforts to help find Bryan Wolli’s true identity. They also found a mobile phone but this only contained a “handful of contacts”.

Speaking to locals

Speaking to locals, police found that Bryan mostly kept to himself but some witnesses did pass the name of “Brian Wallace” on, and that he had a northern accent, which was presumed to be a Sheffield accent. There was a possibility that he had a sister in North London and Police knew Bryan worked cash in hand as a builder but apart from the above information, very little else was known.

So for 10 solid years, the Police, Media, Missing Persons Charities, and Content creators have been sharing Brian’s appeals. You will remember I previously shared Bryan’s Appeal via the “Do You Know Me?” campaign and on my YouTube channel (more than once) in the hopes that just one appeal would hit the right person.

The Golden Formula

In 2020 the Missing Persons Charity Locate international featured an appeal for Bryan Wollis identity, launching their own investigation. Locate international said they first tracked down the owner of the canal boat Bryan was pictured looking around on, sadly they did not know each other but he did remember meeting Bryan in the William the Fourth pub in Leyton. The owner said Bryan had talked about having canal boats in the past and as the owner and Bryan got talking, the owner snapped a few pictures of Bryan and printed them off for him. These would be the same images featured in the appeals shared for Bryan’s identity and found in his shared flat. Although the ownder did not know Bryan’s true Identity, they did give a lead.

The investigation then seems to have turned to the the William the Fourth pub in Leyton, where locals recognised Bryan , they said he was quite and that they did not remember him speaking of any family members.

Next Locate International then turned to their appeal in which they targeted the Sheffield area. During their appeal campaign Sheffields Local Paper the Sheffield Star headlined ‘Brian Wallace’: Mystery of man killed in Walthamstow with links to Sheffield is ‘unlike any case in history’ article on the 22nd 0f January, 2024. This would prove to be beneficial in a breakthrough for Bryan’s case as Nik Dodsworth, an inspector with South Yorkshire Police based in Sheffield was reading along with a deep interest and his curiosity got the better of him. He decided to investigate further.

in a quote published by Locate International Inspector Nik Dodsworth said “I did some enquiries and found a partial DNA hit which brought up a Alwyn Woolis, and I immediately noted the similarity of the name to Brian Wallace,” Insp Dodsworth said.

“I found an obituary for an Alwyn Woolis who had died in Derbyshire in 2016, and in the obituary his late son Brian was mentioned, as well as Alwyn’s daughter and another son.”

Shockingly it seems there was a hit with Bryan’s DNA, leaving me wondering how this was missed before if the DNA database is nationwide?

The name Bryan Wallace was such a close match to the partial math that Inspector Nik Dodsworth couldn’t help but see the similarity. He then went on to do an ancestry search on Alwyn Woolis. Inspector Nik Dodsworth found an obituary for Alwyn which mentions Bryan , his sister and another brother. Upon identifying Bryan’s sister, it was clear the team were and 9 years after Bryan’s fatal accident, Bryan’s sister identified the John Doe known as Brian Wallace as indeed Bryan Wollis.

Information about Inspector Nik Dodsworths and Locate International’s findings were sent to the Metropolitan Police and the East London coroner to hopefully put an end to Bryan’s open case.

Volunteer Investigator for Locate International Yvonne Naish said “I am really pleased that we have been able to let his family know what happened to him and hopefully bring them some peace of mind, said Yvonne Naish, who led the team that investigated Bryan’s case. “The whole team spent a lot of time thinking about the case and trying to understand how the police had a name yet no one could locate his family.”

I think this case shows us we have a lot to learn about the DNA database but it also shows that the tried and tested methods for public appeals have a major and beneficial impact on missing persons cases. The relationship between charities, police and the media have proved to be the golden combination in successful appeals. It also shows the use of social media advertising is also beneficial in bring these cases alive,

I thought it was awesome to read about how Inspector Nik Dodsworth was intrigued by Locate Internationals appeal. It shows the human side to policing and how even police officers can be drawn into unidentified missing persons appeals.

When I first read the update in this case it felt like such a win at first, but again with such cases, you always remember that at the end of the day, Bryan is not here no more, and while we have been reading what we knew of Brian’s story his family are just learning about his sad passing and this brings me a deep sadness in which I would say my thoughts are for Bryan and with his Family at this sad time.

Although there is a sadness, there is also a need to be thankful. I have been obsessed with the charity Locate International for a number of years now, and I am so thankful for their dedication in searching for answers, they cases are a passion of mine and to see one solved means the absolute world to me. The work they do for Missing People and their families is beyond words and is so beneficial for our country but they need the public on their side. The work they do, may be voluntarily but it doesn’t come without a cost. If you would like to show support to locate international click here

Locate International are not done yet, they still have a few loose ends to tie up, they said “Bryan had been a private man, who shared little of his day-to-day life. He was a charmer, back in the day. Even now, it is unclear if he had children, or a partner, but he is believed to have been close to someone named Sylvia, who worked in country and western venues in the Nottingham area. We are now actively trying to trace her, and anyone who knew her.”

“My sympathy is with Bryan’s family, who had to live with not knowing what happened to him for several years,” said Insp Dodsworth. “I am glad that they finally have some closure on this tragic incident and can begin to rebuild.”- Said Inspector Nik Dodsworth

Bryan Wollis was laid to rest in a common grave in Manor Park Cemetery in east London with his name still displaying “Brian Wallace”.

The driver of the vehicle, was prosecuted for the causing the death of Bryan Woolis.