Police Again Search Moor for 1964 Victim of Killers

Author thinks he found human remains in the area
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 30, 2022 4:12 PM CDT
Police Restart Moor Search for Boy Slain in 1964
Winnie Johnson, with her 23-year-old son Joey, digs in the Saddleworth Moor near Manchester, England, in 1988 in an effort to find the remains of her son Keith Bennett.   (AP Photo / PA, File)

Winnie Johnson searched for her 12-year-old son's body from 1964 until her death in 2012, sometimes digging herself in the moor where English police believe Keith Bennett was buried by his killers. A new lead has Greater Manchester police again digging in Saddleworth Moor, the Telegraph reports. Russell Edwards, an author researching the case, told police on Thursday that he'd found a skull buried on the land, and the department began excavating at the site on Friday. An officer cautioned that nothing will be known for a while, per the BBC. "It is far too early to be certain whether human remains have been discovered," he said.

Ian Brady died in 2017 without revealing the location of Keith's remains. He and his partner, Myra Hindley, who died in 2002, killed the boy and four other children between July 1963 and October 1965. The remains of the other four victims eventually were found on the moor. Keith Bennett was abducted while he was walking to visit his grandmother. Edwards said he began digging after conducting soil analysis, aided by a geologist and archaeologist. Keith's brother Alan has been told of the resumed search. A plaque on the moor in honor of the boy and his mother says, "Keith will come home." (More England stories.)

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