Gun find in hunt for lost Moors Murders victim
INVESTIGATORS searching for the undiscovered body of Moors Murder victim Keith Bennett have found a gun near where he is believed to be buried.
They uncovered the Eibar double-barrelled shotgun – stored in its original case – hidden in a polythene sheet beneath a pile of rocks.
The rusting firearm was found on a bleak stretch of Saddleworth Moor, near the makeshift graves of three other victims of evil child killers Myra Hindley and Glasgowborn Ian Brady.
Justice campaigners who made the find believe it could have been used to kill Keith, whom the twisted pair snatched off the street when he was aged just 12 in 1964. His body has never been discovered.
Last night experts said the new discovery could prove the first major breakthrough in more than four years.
Ex-detective Mark WilliamsThomas said: “Someone doesn’t just walk up on to the moors and hide a gun there.
“We do know that Brady was linked with armed robbery and that he certainly was planning one.
“When you put that all together, you certainly get something that is suspicious.
“Could this be Brady’s gun? It could be very significant.”
Erica Gregory, 50, found the Spanish-made shotgun, which dates back to the 60s, while searching the haunting moor with pal Margaret Coop.
It was hidden in the same spot as discarded gun cartridges, lengths of twisted rope, polythene sheeting, a motorcycle gauntlet and a bonehandled hunting knife.
The latest finds come four years after the investigation team found a broken spade they believe was used to bury Keith in the area near Greenfield Brook, about a mile directly south east from where Moors murder victim Lesley Ann Downey’s body was found.
The location is also a mile from