Keith Bennett: Police chief defends week long search for Moors Murders victim's body after tip-off

Keith Bennett, aged 12, was one of the five children killed, but his body has never been found. Greater Manchester Police began searching Saddleworth Moor in the Peak District after recieving a tip-off, which Chief Constable Stephen Watson said “was credible”.

Mr Watson told BBC Radio Manchester the force “don't just disappear off with any sort of crackpot-type information”. The search was started as a result of evidence gathered by author and investigator, Russell Edwards, who is said to have been “convinced” he found Keith’s remains.

Mr Watson said in the end the search was “an unwelcome distraction because it proved not to have any validity”, after a week of excavation by “accredited forensic experts”. He said: “We were absolutely determined we were going to pursue whatever was told to us with all the diligence in the world because the worst thing would be not to follow it up and not to obtain the opportunity. But we're conscious that when we are doing that, the family are suffering.

"We, like everybody else of course, would do literally anything to bring a proper closure to the family of Keith Bennett. For us, we were hoping against hope that we could recover that little chap's remains and lay him to rest with dignity."

Keith Bennett went missing on June 16, 1964, whilst travelling to see his grandmother. The most recent search for his remains began on September 30 and ended October 7.