Years old, but still standing. In the face of the blasting wind and rain hammering the moors above Saddleworth, the enduring memorial to a little boy who lost his life at the hands of murderers - and the mum who never gave up hope of finding him.
Today, police forensic officers are digging near a longstanding memorial to Keith Bennett, a boy of 12 who was last seen on June 16, 1964 - before his life was claimed by the Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. The memorial also commemorates the unwavering spirit of Winnie Johnson, Keith's mother.
Following Keith's disappearance, Winnie spent the rest of her life looking for her son, who she waved goodbye to for the final time as he walked across Stockport Road in Longsight towards his gran's house on that fateful day. She pleaded with his killers, who admitted to killing Keith more than 20 years later, to reveal where they left his body. But it was to no end and 78-year-old Winnie died in 2012 without ever learning the truth.
Now, some 58 years after Keith's death, there is renewed hope he might be found and finally laid to rest.
In a touching image, floral tributes, messages and gifts are still being left for the mother and son. A sign that Keith has not been forgotten, nor Winnie's lifelong pledge to find her beloved boy.
This week, police received information that human remains had been discovered on the moorland above Saddleworth, sparking hope that Keith could finally be found. Near the memorial, forensic officers are now combing the bleak landscape once more.
In 1966, Brady and Hindley were found guilty of torturing and killing John Kilbride, 12, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, and Edward Evans, 17. Almost 20 years later Brady admitted in an interview with a journalist that he had also killed Keith and Pauline Reade, 16.
Keith became the lost victim of the Moors Murders, the only one whose remains have never been found. Winnie wrote to her son's killer hundreds of times over the years begging him to enable her to giver her little boy a Christian burial. Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Cruel Brady refused to divulge his whereabouts.
Prompted by the confession, Johnson wrote to Hindley, asking for her help in finding Keith's burial place. "I am a simple woman, I work in the kitchens of Christie's Hospital," she wrote.
"It has taken me five weeks labour to write this letter because it is so important to me that it is understood by you for what it is, a plea for help. Please, Miss Hindley, help me."
After Hindley died without disclosing any information, Winnie appealed to Brady to tell her where Keith is before she herself died - to no avail.
Winnie had planned for Keith’s funeral should his body ever be recovered. Her dream was for his coffin to be pulled in a glass horse-drawn hearse and his grave to be covered to in roses.
She hoped for him to be buried next to her late husband, Jim Johnson, Keith's step-father, who 'worshipped' him. Keith's gravestone would have the simple epitaph 'At peace, at last'.
Author Russell Edwards brought together a team of experts in a bid to find where the Moor Murders victim was buried. On Thursday night, force specialists went to a remote location to dig at the spot where Mr Edward's team reportedly recovered part of a skull.
His team is said to have taken a photograph of part of a lower jaw and shown it to GMP.
Force forensic experts are hoping to obtain DNA from any body tissue they discover so they can confirm that the remains are those of Keith. It is understood a tiny piece of clothing has also been found buried 3ft underground beside the suspected skull.
Greater Manchester Police are proceeding with caution. It is understood any findings will take at least a fortnight to test and identify.
Keith's brother Alan is sceptical. He said no human remains have been found so far by police.
In the most recent statement from Greater Manchester Police, officers said the evidence is in the very early stages of being assessed: "We have always said that GMP would act on any significant information which may lead to the recovery of Keith and reunite him with his family.
"Officers met with Mr Edwards yesterday evening (29 th September) and he was able to locate a site of interest and provide us with further details of the work he has been carrying out.
"We are at the very early stages of assessing the evidence which he brought to our attention, but have taken the decision to excavate an area of land with a view to determining what lies there.
"It is far too early to be certain whether human remains have been uncovered, but out of respect for Alan Bennett, who we regularly maintain contact with, we have informed him of this potential development."
At the memorial for Keith held at Manchester Cathedral in 2010, Winnie Johnson told the hundreds of people present: "I'm Keith's mother. He's there on the moors. I want him back."
READ NEXT:
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
