Police call off search for Moors murder victim

The search for the remains of the Moors murders victim Keith Bennett has been called off, Greater Manchester Police said today.

The 12-year-old was killed in 1964 by Myra Hindley and Ian Brady

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said that searches based on the words and photographs of the notorious pair - known as the Moors Murderers - had failed to yield results.

Keith was the third of the Moors Murderers' five child victims. He went missing on June 14, 1964.

A GMP spokesman said: "The search for the body of Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett is to enter a dormant phase after Greater Manchester Police exhausted all the avenues currently available."

Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Heywood, head of GMP's serious crime division, said that, although the search was over, the case would never be closed.

He said: "As a force, there is nothing we would have liked more than to draw a close to this dark chapter, and we are very disappointed that we have not located Keith's remains, but we will never close this case and remain open to any new lines of inquiry which may come about as a result of significant scientific advances or credible or actionable information."

In 2003, police launched Operation Maida in an attempt to locate Keith's body. Their searches were based on information from Brady and Hindley, who died in 2002.

A GMP spokesman said: "The operation used information which was already in the public domain about what Hindley had said about where Keith's body was buried along with photographs taken by Brady at the time.

"Brady had taken photographs of Hindley over the graves of the other victims. Detectives believe that if those areas could be located it would provide a credible search area."

Detectives used tools from spades to the most sophisticated equipment available in an effort to find Keith's remains.

The scientists whose expert help they called upon were confident that the soil on the Moors would have preserved Keith's remains.

Mr Heywood said: "The Moors Murders have cast a long and dark shadow over the history of our region.

"We had a little hope we would find the body of that little boy who was taken so cruelly away all those years ago and finally allow his family to lay him to rest.

"Sadly, we have not found his body and reluctantly have to say that, for now, we have exhausted all the avenues available to us.

"These have included the use of the most sophisticated searching equipment currently available and drawing on the support and expertise of some of the world's leading experts in this area.

"In order to make any search of such a large area meaningful, we must ensure there is a sound rationale for that search.

"Unfortunately, having completed the searches in those areas, we no longer have a rationale to continue searching and the investigation is entering a dormant phase.

"In the end, one man holds the key to where Keith Bennett's body is. One act of humanity would help Winnie find some peace and allow her to give her son the burial she so desperately wants."

Winnie Johnson, Keith's mother, said: "I am 76 in September and I just want Keith found.

"I will never give up as long as I have breath in my body - not just for me but for my family and all of those around me.

"What Brady's done and continues to do is just so cruel."