Injured Mystery Woman Found in Croatia Is Identified

Update: The mystery woman found on a Croatian island has been identified as Daniela or Dana Adamcova, a Slovakian 57-year-old who formerly worked as a jewelry designer and lived in the US. The Guardian notes she was identified by friends who caught wind of the story and saw her photo. Her pieces have reportedly been sold to the likes of Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, and Brigitte Bardot, though in more recent years friends say she worked with the homeless. She is said to be in stable condition. Our original story from Sept. 20 follows:

Croatian police are trying to figure out the identity of a woman found Sept. 12 on an isolated rock, all alone, with no ID or phone and no memory of who she is. The woman, about 5 foot 4 with short blonde hair, has bloody cuts and bruises on her face and body and appears to be in her 60s. The only thing police have been able to learn is that she speaks English. She was spotted by a fisherman sitting on an outcropping of sharp rock on Krk. Krk is the most populous island in the Adriatic, but the area where the mystery woman was found is hard to reach. The fisherman who spotted her called for help because he was afraid he’d run his boat aground. And the rescuers who came for her had to abandon their 4X4 and hike about a mile to reach her, the Guardian reports.

Authorities are guessing that she slept outdoors for several nights, somehow avoiding bears and other wild animals. She was weak—unable to drink water without help—and needed to go to the hospital for treatment. To add to the mystery, Krk locals say the place where she was found is totally inaccessible by boating, swimming, or walking alone, CNN reports. She told her rescuers she had no idea how she got there. And, while she speaks English, she sometimes drifts into an Eastern European accent, the Sun reports. A resident of the nearby village says nobody saw her there, and they would have remembered a stranger coming through. Police are scouring the area for clues, checking missing persons listings and showing her photo at hotels, campsites, apartment complexes, and tourist destinations. (More weird news stories.)