A 'human jaw' which sparked the latest attempt to find Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett could be a 'plant-based' material, police have said. Forensic experts have spent the last week painstakingly excavating two areas of Saddleworth Moor in a bid to locate the 12-year-old's body.
But this afternoon (Friday) GMP announced the search had been brought to a close after 'no evidence of the presence of human remains' was found. For Keith's family, it means the agonising 58-year wait to discover the truth continues.
Det Chief Insp Cheryl Hughes today revealed more details of how the search came about. Author Russell Edwards, who says he's spent the last seven years trying to locate Keith's remains, contacted the police on Thursday, September 29, saying he had 'had located the body of Keith Bennett and had evidence of such'.
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Mr Edwards told police soil samples he had taken from the moor had been analysed by a chemist and found to include higher levels of elements which indicate the presence of human remains. He returned to the site to dig and discovered what he believed was a fruit stone, clothing material, hair and what he described as 'decaying body tissue'.
Mr Edwards also took a number of photographs which he sent to an archaeologist for analysis. The archaeologist informed him one of the photographs contained what they believed to be a human jaw.
Mr Edwards provided police with the samples and copies of the photographs he had taken, then took officers to dig site and provided grid references. The following day forensic archaeologists, forensic anthropologists and GMP crime scene investigators began a 'methodical forensic archaeological excavation' of the area.
The items provided by Mr Edwards were examined by a forensic scientist. Det Chief Hughes said the presence of human remains was not found, although more 'more analysis is required'. Forensic experts also studied the photograph of the 'human jaw'.
"At this stage, the indications are that it would be considerably smaller than a juvenile jaw and it cannot be ruled out that it is plant-based," Det Chief Insp Hughes said, adding that an analysis of soil samples taken from the area is also ongoing.
Keith was snatched from the street by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley on June 16, 1964, as he walked to his grandma's house in Longsight. He is the only of their five young victims whose remains have never been found.
Despite the latest search drawing a blank, Det Chief Insp Cheryl Hughes vowed the police investigation will remain open 'until we have found the answers Keith's family have deserved for so many years'.
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