Detectives say human remains found in a farmer’s field are of a miner who was murdered after vanishing from his local pub over 50 years ago.
Alfred Swinscoe, 54, disappeared from the Pinxton Miners Arms in the pit village of Pinxton, Derbys, in 1967 after going outside to use a toilet.
His two sons and a friend, who he had been drinking with, raised the alarm when the dad-of-six failed to return to the bar.
Despite a police search and widespread local publicity, Alfred’s disappearance remained a mystery for 56 years.
His remains were found following construction work on farmland in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts, a short walk from the pub, in April.
Scientists and an anthropologist determined the remains were of a man who was aged between 40 and 60 when he died.
Detectives said there was evidence he had been attacked and launched a murder investigation last month.
Alfred’s grandson Russell Lowbridge, who was four when he vanished, came forward to say the victim may be his granddad.
DNA tests were carried out on Russell and Alfred’s son, now in his 70s, and matched against the bones.
Further tests are being carried out to determine how he was killed and how long he had been buried at the site.
Alfred, a champion pigeon racer known as ’Sparrow’, worked at Langton Colliery from the age of 14.
Four of his six children are still alive and he has a number of grandchildren.
Alfred’s daughter Julie, now 82, said she “doesn’t want to go to her grave” never knowing what happened to her dad.
She said: “I was 25 at the time, a factory worker and I remember coming
home one day from work and people saying they couldn’t find dad.
“He had gone missing, and the police were searching. We all thought it was very mysterious, but we thought he would turn up.
“It does make you wonder how we did cope through all these years because it has always stayed with us as a family. Where did dad go?
“We might be able to now give my dad the funeral he deserves but we don’t have the answers we desperately want.
“Someone killed my dad and I want to know why.”
Grandson Russell, 60, said Alfred’s son Gary, who died in 2012, was “haunted” by his dad’s disappearance his whole life.
“He wouldn’t let it go, especially as he was in the pub with him the night he went missing,” he said.
“He just remembers his dad giving him a ten bob note - telling him to get a round and then never ever seeing him again.
“He would go back to Pinxton at the time and even search down disused wells and even hired a private detective near the end.
“It completely broke him, never knowing what happened to his dad. It tormented him up until the day he died.”
Asst Chief Const Rob Griffin, of Derbyshire Police, said his detectives will try to find Alfred’s killer.
He said: “I cannot imagine how distressing this must have been for Alfred’s family who have been waiting 56 years for answers.
“Some of Alfred’s family members are no longer alive and will have died never knowing what happened to their loved one that night.
“All they know is Alfred went to the pub one evening and then never came home.
“Despite this happening more than 50 years ago, this will not stop us from using all our investigative skills to find those responsible.”
