Detectives issue re-appeal two years after man's remains found in South Yorkshire field

The skull and bones of Martin Radford – who was also known as Ziggy and Ragsy – were discovered by children playing in a field off Mitchell Street in the Swaithe area of Barnsley on February 4, 2018.

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Police investigations revealed Mr Radford, who was in his late-50s, was last seen alive in March 2015.

On the two-year anniversary of Mr Radford’s remains being found, Detective Inspector Rob Platts, the senior investigating officer, told The Star: “Martin’s family are eager to find out what’s happened to him so they can ultimately get some closure.

“We want to appeal to members of the public to see if they’ve got any information with regards to Martin.

“We particularly want to know who he was living with or stopping with around March 2015, where he was living or stopping at that particular time, who he may have been associated with or hanging around with, why he would have had cause to be in the Swaithe area of Barnsley, and whether there’s any other information whatsoever that people might have that could assist us in establishing how he came to his death.

“I'm hoping someone comes forward with a little bit of information which allows us to develop our enquiries and investigations and hopefully help us identify why and how he came to his death.”

In 2018, an inquest concluded there was no identifiable cause of Mr Radford’s death.

“There was no explanation of how or why he came to die,” Det Insp Platts said.

“His death remains unexplained.

“There’s no evidence, at this moment in time, of foul play.

“However, I have to remain open to all possibilities.”

He added: “Cases like this do happen but they are unusual.

“The circumstances of which Martin was found are particularly unusual given the rural location and the fact he had potentially been there for years before his remains were found.”

South Yorkshire Police can be contacted on 101.

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