The brother of Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett has spoken of his 'anger and pain' in an increasingly bitter row with an author who sparked a new police dig for the child's remains.
After a week of painstaking digging and analysis by police-commissioned experts, yesterday (Friday) GMP revealed no human remains have been found following information from author and amateur sleuth Russell Edwards.
A picture he took purporting to show parts of a child's jaw may simply show vegetation, according to GMP as police called off the dig.
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Keith's brother Alan Bennett, who said it was 'no surprise nothing was found', has posted a series of criticisms of Mr Edwards on his Facebook page, prompting the author to respond.
Addressing Alan Bennett's criticisms directly in an interview with ITV News, Mr Edwards said: "I've literally dedicated seven years of my life to find justice for Keith, closure for your family and defeating Brady in his ambition to create the most perfect murder and this is the thanks I get.
"Why not go and meet me, let me show you what I've got and explain the stories instead of just trying to destroy me and my reputation? Which is what has happened on social media since."
In another interview, he told BBC Radio Manchester he and his team had found items which suggested there were remains at a site on the moor close to where the pair's other victims were buried and had documented everything they found in photographs.
He insisted he was 'not wasting anyone's time'. He added: "I've been looking at Keith's picture for seven years, he's my inspiration. It wasn't a case of I just walked on the moors one day and found a dig site and dug it up."
Keith was sexually abused and murdered, one of five child victims of killers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Aged just 12, he vanished on June 16th 1964. His is the only body not to have been found. The other victims were Pauline Reade, 16, John Kilbride, 12, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, and Edward Evans, 17.
Last night Alan Bennett questioned Mr Edwards and his 'supposed find'.
He wrote: "What makes him think that a team of highly trained professional forensic archaeologists, scene of crime officers, a botanist, a facial features expert, lab technicians, another team of officers walking the moor both in front and behind of his supposed find searching the ground, drone operatives and the complete professionalism and care to conduct a search thoroughly could not find what he is supposed to have found?
"I have seen the way those forensic archaeologists work, it is all painstaking trowel and finger-tip searching and sifting of anything removed from the ground. I have been advised and helped on the moor by archaeologists and that gave me a real insight into just how they work to make sure they don't miss anything.
"How can he self-pityingly state that I'm trying to ruin his reputation when he is doing a perfectly good job of that without any help from me?"
He added: "Will he apologise for the anguish, anger, hurt and distress he has caused by his thoughtless, heartless and publicity seeking actions?
"From his supposed find of bone fragment, skull, hair, material and body tissue there is absolutely nothing to be found now and no trace of any of those things," said Mr Bennett, who added his family was feeling 'anger and pain'.
The M.E.N. has repeatedly contacted Mr Edwards for comment.
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