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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Helena Vesty

The memorial to a murdered boy and his grieving mother - battered by the elements, but still standing on the bleak moors

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.

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