Police have said no ‘bones’ or ‘visible evidence’ have been found in the search for Moors Murder victim Keith Bennett.

Archaeloogists have been excavating the scence in the Peak District after an author claimed to have located the 12-year-old’s makeshift grave.

Greater Manchester Police said ‘no bones, fabric or items of interest’ have been recovered in the area after beginning a search on September 30.

However digging will continue in the wider area of Saddleworth Moor in the Peak District, and soil samples have been taken for analysis, cops said.

Keith was 12 when he was murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in 1964, and his body was never recovered.

Last month, the Daily Mail reported that author Russell Edwards believed he had located the youngster’s grave on Saddleworth Moor.

Yesterday officers said a ‘meticulous examination of the initial area’ had been completed and officers have moved on to surrounding grounds to ensure nothing has been missed.

Detective Chief Inspector Cheryl Hughes said: ‘Forensic archaeologists and forensic anthropologists have now completed a methodical archaeological excavation and examination of the area previously dug and refilled by the member of the public.

‘No bones, fabric or items of interest were recovered from the soil.

‘These accredited and certified forensic experts are now continuing with a methodical and controlled excavation of the area immediately surrounding the original site to provide a higher level of assurance of the presence or absence of any items of interest.

‘Further soil samples have been taken for analysis, but at this time there is no visible evidence to suggest the presence of human remains.

‘The scene examination is ongoing.’

She added: ‘We have seen the outpouring of support since this news broke so know how our communities feel about this case but we are asking members of the public not to travel to the area and can assure them that we will provide timely and appropriate updates.’

Detective Hughes said that GMP is keeping Keith’s family updated at each stage of the search.

Police have dug 3ft down in the immediate area identified by Mr Russell and then several metres beyond that. As the search entered its fifth day, Keith’s brother Alan Bennett publicly thanked the police but said he was ‘confused, to say the least’ that last week’s new information has not yet yielded a positive result.

Keith was last seen by his mother in the early evening of June 16 1964 after he left home in Eston Street, Longsight, Manchester, on his way to his grandmother’s house nearby.

His brother, Alan Bennett said on Facebook: ‘”I would like to publicly thank the Cold Case Team and the Forensic Team for all they are doing on the moor and for keeping me informed.”

Earlier he suggested Mr Russell could return to the moors to help police find the precise location of his find.

He wrote: ‘Instead of doing the rounds of media outlets, maybe that bloke should return to the moor and be a lot more accurate about the facts and location of his find.

‘There’s a lot more I would like to say and ask but out of respect and gratitude for the Cold Case Team and the Forensic Team I’ll keep quiet for now.”

He added: ‘Just to be clear about this. I’m not saying there is nothing there, what I will say is that I, and many others are confused, to say the very least.

‘I still believe Keith is not in that location and I still believe there were no other victims.

‘However, nobody can rule anything else out. I just cannot understand why nothing has been found.’

He wrote: ‘I am just getting frustrated, annoyed, confused and feeling a lot more emotions because there is more to this than meets the eye and I cannot understand why that bloke appears not to have been exact in his information to the police about the location.

‘Surely, he cannot have forgotten exactly where it is after his claims about his years of investigations.

‘Just a few of the hundreds of thoughts running through my mind.’

Brady and Hindley murdered five people in total, and three were later found buried on Saddleworth Moor.

The victims were Pauline Reade, 16, who disappeared on her way to a disco on July 12 1963.

John Kilbride, 12, who was snatched in November the same year.

Lesley Ann Downey, 10, who was lured away from a funfair on Boxing Day 1964 and Edward Evans, 17, who was axed to death in October 1965.

Brady and Hindley were caught after the Edward Evans murder and Lesley and John’s bodies were recovered from the moor.

They were taken to Saddleworth Moor to help police find the remains of the other victims, but only Pauline’s body was recovered.

Brady claimed he could not remember where he had buried Keith.

In 2009, police said a covert search operation on the moor, which used a wealth of scientific experts, also failed to discover any trace of the boy.

Hindley died in jail in 2002 at the age of 60 and Brady died in a high-security hospital in 2017 aged 79.

In 2012 – 48 years after Keith’s death – his mother, Winnie Johnson, died aged 78 without fulfilling her wish to give him a Christian burial.

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