Asylum seeker identified as victim in Bern woods

Bern cantonal police said on Tuesday that the victim was a 21-year-old who was known in Switzerland under the name Cherif Boughrara.

Part of his skeletal remains were found at Champion in the Seewald region along with a ring and a metal bracelet, police said in a statement.

Forensic specialists from the institute of legal medicine at the University of Bern identified the victim, a refugee who stayed at the Eschenhof welcome centre for asylum seekers between June 14th and 20th 2012.

The causes of the man’s death remain the subject of an ongoing investigation, cantonal police said.

Police made an appeal to members of the public who may have information about Boughrara, or who may have seen him after June 20th 2012, to contact police on 032 324 85 31.

Police are also interested in speaking to anyone who may recognize the jewelry or who may have seen suspicious activity in the Seewald area in the summer of 2012.