The mystery of a pensioner who dressed up and travelled hundreds of miles to die in the Pennines

Police, who say they have 'never seen anything like it', are trying to identify man who set out from London on December 11

Indian’s Head peak, where the body was found (Alamy)

It was a hill walk which ended in tragedy and has left police baffled. The pensioner travelled hundreds of miles from his home before setting out for one of the highest peaks in Greater Manchester close to nightfall and in atrocious weather conditions.

He set out, clad not in usual hill-walking garb, but smartly dressed in brown heavy jacket, blue jumper, white shirt, blue corduroy trousers and black slip-on shoes. He had no map and needed to ask directions from a pub landlord who advised him against the trip.

The next sighting of him came from walkers who saw him wending his way up to the 450-metre peak of Indian’s Head above Dovestone reservoir, near Saddleworth Moor, Oldham. The next morning another walker found him dead. He was on a boggy track, lying down face upwards, head towards the summit. His legs were together and his arms by his side in full view, according to police. There was no sign of a fall or any trace of disturbance. All the signs are that he had simply lain down and died on the spot.

Now police, who say they have “never seen anything like it”, are desperately trying to identify the man so they can tell his family of his fate.

In his pockets were three railway tickets and £130 in cash. The tickets revealed that on 11 December he had travelled by London Underground from Ealing Broadway in West London to Euston station where he bought another ticket to Manchester’s Piccadilly station. It appears he intended to come back as he bought a return ticket.

There were no apparent injuries or marks on the body and police do not believe the death is suspicious. The results of a post-mortem exam was “inconclusive”, say police, who are now awaiting the results of toxicology tests.

No wallet was found or any other documents that would help police put a name to the man. A subsequent medical examination could find no scars, marks or tattoos, although a couple of teeth were missing.

The man caught on CCTV in London

His DNA was checked but no match has been found against a series of databases. Checks of missing person databases have also yielded no clues.

“He remains unidentified at this time. We have had several phone calls from people who have contacted us with possible identifications for the deceased male from missing people around the country, which we are very grateful for. Most have been confirmed as not being one and the same person,” a Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said.

From CCTV cameras, police have been able to piece together his journey from Ealing, where he was seen walking in the street, to Euston and then to Manchester Piccadilly station, where he was seen buying food on the station concourse, making enquiries at the information counter before leaving by the station’s front entrance. Thereafter his whereabouts remain a mystery.

Detective Sgt John Coleman, who is leading the inquiry said: “I’ve been doing this job for a long, long time and I have never known anything like it. We are trying to find out who he is so we can tell his family but unfortunately he did not hold any ID.”