Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrian Tsarevich
Hi Adrian, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The psychology of true crime as entertainment is a never-ending pit of speculations; is it good? Is it bad? Is it the unavoidable result of public over-exposition to the horrors of mankind? What phenomenon brings humans to find entertainment and relaxation in the misery of others? Such questions are what I asked myself, as a true crime nerd. Questions worthy of being asked, although coming without much answers, only more speculation. One last question, however, tugged at my teenage brain: Is there positives to the public interest in true crime/cold cases, and if so; what can I do about it, as a person?
As an autistic person, this over-analytic tendency to pick apart issues has often been the source of existential dread and anguish. And as a young person who very much cares about humanitarian issues and the impact of their actions on the surrounding world, the question of cold cases was especially harrowing. Clearly, humans care to hear about these unsolved, untold stories. There is some level of caring in hearing about the unheard… Perhaps the interest of people in mystery is that of the void, a certain kind of limerence. The lingering thought that the void could swallow anyone oh so quietly: You, your loved ones, your neighbour. One thing I knew for certain, is that if there is care, there is potential for good.
And so Nameless Does was created with the intent of capturing this caringness for cold cases. First represented by a logo depicting a doe ( female deer, but also the assigned fictive last name to unidentified remains, i.e Jane/John Doe), the concept was and remains ever so simple: To use social medias to publicize and bring more attention to cases including an unidentified deceased, to create a potentially infinite net of human connexions reaching further, and wider than the current platforms diffusing information regarding unidentified deceased in order to restore identity, dignity, and reunite families with their missing loved ones. Which, would be done with dignity, reframing the emphasis from ” true crime entertainment” to citizen action and mobilization.
Here is how Nameless Does works, to this day. Our team of volunteer researcher (which has varied in number through the years) surf official archival sources which publish cases of unidentified deceased to the internet. These sources, however, do not engage in pushing their platforms or seeking public awarenes. Cases are selected, prioritizing cases which include facial ID (picture) of the deceased. When it comes to solving cold cases with unidentified deceased, facial recognition remains the best way to initiate the solving. These pictures also cross any language barriers, allowing our platform to facilitate the solving of cases accross state lines and borders alike.
By relying on this web of human connexions, Nameless Does has been able to facilitate the solving of cases directly, and indirectly, sometimes collaborating directly with family members who had recgonized their missing relative on our platform. These interactions remain some of the best, and most unnnerving highlights of the work we have done. The satisfaction of restoring a human’s identity and dignity comes with the grief of the relatives, as their search comes to a close. One particular case that comes to mind involved a deceased individual which had been recovered in the late 90’s. One of their family members so happened to recognize their missing relative on our account, and so we were allowed to have a minor participating role in restoring this man’s name, which is something that I will never forget, as a person.
Nameless Does continues to post and be active on instagram; as long as it will be needed, it will be there. We will be there. While the questions I asked myself about the nature of man still remain, I, for one, can rest assured that most of us are good and able to come together as a community, and that for the good of our kin.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In the context of our project, a smooth road is everything but what we encountered. From the struggles of constantly being surrounded by death, sadness and darkness, to the everyday troubles of managing a large social media based platform with content prone to debating and argument. Another issue we’ve encountered is the management of language barriers; as we have come to grow a significant community of followers in latin America. Through it all, the biggest most important part was to keep our identity; remember our purpose and intent, and the lives we know we have changed. The peace we know we have wrought.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Nameless Does?
For about 5 years now, Nameless Does has remained active on Instagram, defying all odds and standing tall as a monument of the ability for humans to gather, and stick together as a community. In the absence of a narrative, solely presenting the facts of a cold case in the most straight-forward way possible, we have tried to offer as much dignity as possible in the presentation of these cold-cases in dire need of attention. Aside from posting about our Does, Nameless Does has been offering educationnal content pertaining to death and grief through livestreams, Q&As, and ”Death Cafe” style digital converstations, sometimes featuring professionnals of the death industry and referring followers to grief support ressources.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most, to me, is the restoration of identity and dignity of Jane and John Does. These cases, in the absence of ”sensationnal” tales go silently so. The true crime community cares very little for these cases, which often end up in the archives, alone, without a name. These are however humans, and somebody OUT THERE knows this person. Someone out there, needs to have easy access to the information. Someone needs to be shown this case in order to solve it, and restore the deceased’s identity. Giving the deceased the attention they need to be laid to rest is the most important thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/namelessdoes/?hl=en
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/namelessdoes/?hl=en
