The body of a Derbyshire miner missing since 1967 has been found in a field. Now his family want answers

Russell Lowbridge contacted police after a farmer found a body that matched his grandfather’s height and age when he went missing. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Unbeknown to Russell Lowbridge, he had driven past the remains of his grandfather hundreds of times since the Derbyshire miner and popular pigeon racer had gone missing 56 years before after a night at his local pub.

“I wouldn’t like to count the number of times I drove by that road over the years,” Lowbridge, 60, said. “We were so close to him, a stone’s throw away. It makes you think, was he shouting out, ‘I’m here, I’m here’? He would still be there now if it wasn’t for pure chance.”