Fresh hope in new search for Keith

A psychologist believes the hunt for the last remaining Moors Murders victim may have provided intriguing new leads.

Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe, joined an eight-strong team combing the moors at the weekend in a fresh search to discover the final resting place of Keith Bennett.

Dr O’Keeffe (39) travelled from London to link with Norie Miles, a close friend of Winnie Johnson, Keith’s grieving mother, who is desperate to bring closure to the case.

He is interviewing, tape recording and making video studies of people who may be able to shed new light on the inquiry.

He said: “The current investigation has brought new leads from people who remember when the killings first took place. Some are most intriguing.

The team, which includes experts and volunteers from the Welsh-based International Rescue Training Centre, spent the weekend carrying out meticulous searches across selected bracken-strewn sites.

They travelled in a mini-convoy of specially-equipped vans, with hand-held metal probes and dogs trained to detect buried human remains.

Team members inserted the probes into concentrated areas of moorland and then dogs moved in to detect possible clues on the newly-moved earth. Team leader, David Jones, (58) said: “We are systematically working our way across 19 sites, eliminating them in the process. It is very slow and painstaking work.

“It could take years to find the youngster. Our job would be made easier if the one person who could help, Ian Brady, spoke up.

“Even if he simply told us which side of the road we could find Keith would be a help.”

Yesterday, the team moved from Greenfield to a site near Marsden before returning to Wales. They plan to return to the search areas in the future.

Norie Miles, a mother-of-five, has launched a fund to raise cash for a special machine to help searchers probe the ground.

For more information on the hunt, log on to the website at:

www.searchingforkeith.com