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Read the latest in our efforts to help provide new details around child exploitation cases.
New from @Mabl2K https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/04/30/john-doe-29-image-from-fbi-child-exploitation-case-geolocated-in-turkey/
New from @Mabl2K https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/04/30/john-doe-29-image-from-fbi-child-exploitation-case-geolocated-in-turkey/
In 2015, the #FBI released images of John Doe 29. This individual is NOT accused of committing any abuse but may have critical information pertaining to the identity of a child victim in an ongoing sexual exploitation investigation
In 2020, FBI’s Endangered Child Alert Program (ECAP) added more images to the John Doe 29 case. But where in the world were these images taken?
We were able to identify the location where the victim was seated to a resort town in southern Turkey.
This is how we did it...
This is how we did it...
We enhanced the FBI’s image labelled BB002 to reveal a small red object seen through the window in the background. It was an element that seemed to contain a key piece of information: a Turkish flag.
After checking the top tourist destinations in Turkey, a virtual stop in the town of “Side” revealed matching façade and street elements featured in FBI’s image BB002:
Determined to find the pool, we roughly recreated the scene observed in the FBI’s other image (labelled BB001) by constructing a 3D model using @SketchUp. This helped us understand the layout and aim for the right spot in our hunt
We soon discovered a hotel facility on an online booking site. Although not a matching pool, this hotel used the same type of stainless steel litter bins seen in the FBI’s image BB001. The hotel belongs to a group which would lead us to the final location.
Close to the town of Side in Turkey we found a hotel where all the main elements seen in the FBI’s image BB001 were a match. We used publicly available pictures taken by guests to verify the location.
In the FBI’s image BB001, we can see the victim was seated inside a cocktail bar by the pool. The colour, style, shape and position of the parasols as well as the trees and sun loungers are a match.
By tracking and analysing some of the physical elements around the pool, we determined the FBI’s image BB001 was taken in summer 2006.
Read the full article with further details on how this geolocation was made here https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/04/30/john-doe-29-image-from-fbi-child-exploitation-case-geolocated-in-turkey/
