There was an and eerie and sombre atmosphere on the moors above Oldham today as specialist officers battled inclement weather during their resumed search for the remains of Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett.
Police began digging at a remote spot between Saddleworth and the border with West Yorkshire yesterday morning (Friday) after information from author Russell Edwards, who had been researching the murder of 12-year-old Keith by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley 58 years ago.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) say they were shown photographs of what experts working with Mr Edwards believed to be part of a human jaw bone. Excavation of the site began and after having to be halted due to foul weather on Friday evening, it resumed early on Saturday morning.
Around half a dozen specialist forensic crime scene officers, as well as plain-clothes detectives, could be seen working at two police tents, which have been erected next to each other several hundred yards down a steep hill in the middle of moors off Holmfirth Road, around two miles from Dovestones Reservoir which is visible through the mist in the distance.
For large periods there was an eerie silence pierced only by the sound of passing traffic, and the occasional clicks from assembled photographers cameras as the officers quietly carried out their work.
The officers emerged on only a handful of occasions, at one point climbing the hill in order to collect more evidence bags before again walking the treacherous route down to the search area.
They were assisted by firefighters, with two fire engines and a third fire service vehicle parked on the main road. Early in the morning, several fire officers donned their helmets before trekking down the wet and boggy terrain to join the efforts.
Despite some periods of respite, they were hindered by awful conditions including howling winds and heavy downpours.
During one of the brief periods where the sun broke through the clouds, there was a poignant moment when a woman pulled up in her car to hand over a bunch of flowers to an officer guarding the entrances to one of the tracks leading to the dig site.
Others also parked nearby and came and stood on the embankment at the side of the road and watched on, quietly expressing their shock at the reported discovery and their wish for closure for Keith's family.
It's an example of how the search for Keith, who Brady and Hindley admitted killing in 1985, but whose body has never been found, has caused such anguish amongst not just his family and friends but the wider community in Greater Manchester and beyond.
Then this evening came confirmation from Greater Manchester Police that they had not yet "found any identifiable human remains." However, they said the search was continuing and warned it could take "some time" to fully complete it.
Senior Investigating Officer Cheryl Hughes said: "Conditions are difficult and it may take us some time to fully complete the excavation but we are committed to ensuring this is undertaken in the most thorough way possible."
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