THE brother of Keith Bennett will find out today whether cops have found his body after he was murdered by serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

Keith, 12, is the only victim of the notorious Moors Murders to have never been found having vanished 58 years ago at the hands of the depraved duo.

Last night cops searched for the body of Bennett following the discovery of a child's skull.

And today a fresh team of investigators were spotted scouring the area on the Moors in the South Pennines near Manchester.

Forensics were pictured erecting two blue tents as they resumed digging in a bid to end the six-decade mystery of Keith's final resting place.

Firefighters were also spotted at the scene with water pumps as the search continues.

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Keith's brother Alan took to social media last night to reveal that "all should be clear and final by some time tomorrow."

A post on Facebook read: "Apart from believing this is the location for Keith and all the previous graves have been shallow why, if the police were taken to the location, has nothing been discovered as of yet?

"I cannot escape the feeling that we have been here before."

Monster Brady had taunted Alan in sickening letter in 1991, saying he would leave "special instructions" of how to find the child's remains in his will – but the clues never materialised. 

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It is understood police found clothing fragments near the spot yesterday, which is a few hundred yards from where warped killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley buried others.

Officers began digging after author Russell Edwards told them he believed he had found an upper jaw with a full set of teeth.

Keith, the only one of the evil pair’s five young victims not found, was last seen on June 16, 1964, when he left home to walk to his gran’s in Longsight, Manchester.

The 12-year-old was lured into a van by Hindley as Brady sat in the back seat, and driven to Saddleworth Moor, near Oldham, where he was killed and buried.

The child murderers were later branded by a judge as “sadistic killers of the utmost depravity”.

Mr Edwards, who is researching Keith’s murder and has been working with archaeologists in a bid to locate him, described his grim discovery on Thursday.

He said: “The smell hit me about 2ft down. Like a sewer, like ammonia. It was on my clothes. I stank of it. The soil reeked.

“I worked as a gravedigger when I was 19 and it hits you, that smell of death. It is distinctive.

“I was overjoyed. Then we found blue and white stripped material. Then I stopped. I put everything back as I found it.”

Mr Edwards went on: “This is about peace for Keith and closure for the ­family.”

Archaeologist Dawn Keen, who worked with Mr Edwards, said: “I do believe there are human remains there.

“From the photographs, I saw the teeth. I could see the canines. I could see the incisors. I could see the first molar.   It is the left side of an upper jaw. There is no way that it is an animal.”

A second archaeologist said: “It is a human skull. It cannot be anything else.”

A geologist who tested the soil said analysis revealed high levels of calcium and phosphorus, which is a sign of buried bones. Nickel, which is found in clothing zips and fastenings, was also present.

Police last night confirmed they were investigating the find and their probe may “take some time”.

Cold case review officer Martin Bottomley, of Greater Manchester Police, said a representative of Mr Edwards had contacted them at around 11.25am on Thursday.

He said: “Following direct contact with the author, we were informed that he had discovered what he believes are potential human remains in a remote location on the moors. He  agreed to meet with officers . . . to elaborate on his find and direct us to a site of interest.

“The site was assessed late last night and, this morning, specialist officers have begun initial exploration activity.

“We are in the very early stages of assessing the information which has been brought to our attention but have made the decision to act on it in line with a normal response to a report of this kind.

“It is far too early to be certain whether human remains have been discovered and this is expected to take some time.

“We have always said that GMP would act on any significant information which may lead to the recovery of Keith and reunite him with his family.”

Keith’s mum, Winnie Johnson, died in August 2012 without  knowing where her son was buried.

Solicitor John Ainley, who represented Winnie and Keith’s brother Alan, said: “My client is keeping an open mind on the latest report having regard to earlier such reports that have raised expectations but not resulted in finding Keith’s body.

“Naturally, the family are hoping that Keith has been found after all these years and their tireless efforts to find closure.

“I understand Greater Manchester Police are investigating a site of interest but that it will take some weeks to establish whether there is a connection with Keith.”

How evil couple horrified nation with Moors murders

On July 12, 1963, Brady told Hindley he wanted to “commit his perfect murder”.

The twisted duo then embarked on a gruesome reign of terror that saw five children slaughtered.

Hindley would often lure the children in before driving them to Saddleworth Moor or the pair's home.

Brady would then kill them often by throat slashing or strangling.

Four of the five victims were sexually assaulted as well as murdered.

They were also beaten, abused and gagged and made to pose for photographs.

The five victims were:

• Pauline Reade, 16
• John Kilbride, 12
• Keith Bennett, 12
• Lesley Ann Downey, 10
• Edward Evans, 17

The reign of terror came to an end in 1965 when Brady invited Hindley's brother-in-law and friend, David Smith, round to their home.

The monster then murdered Edward Evans – striking him fourteen times with a hatchet before finishing the job by strangling him – while Smith looked on in horror.

Under the pretence of helping them hide the body, Smith left and phoned the police next morning and directed them to Brady's address.

On October 7, 1965, Superintendent Bob Talbot of the Cheshire Police arrived at the back door of 16 Wardle Brook Avenue and arrested the killer after discovering Edward's body.

Over the course of the next few weeks, officers unearthed more evidence linking the couple to unsolved disappearances.

A huge search operation involving 150 officers was launched and on October 16, they found an arm bone sticking out of the ground belonging to Lesley Ann.

They discovered the badly decomposed body of Kilbride five days later.

On June 30, 1987, the body of Pauline Reade was found buried 3 feet below the ground after Brady finally admitted to her murder.

It comes after claims that the Moors murderer may have been aiming to create a ­swastika with victims’ burial sites.

Russell Edwards, who spent seven years researching the killings, says evil Brady positioned remains of female victims on one side of the A635 and boys on the other to form a sick Nazi symbol.

Glasgow-born Brady was sent to Manchester to live with his mum and new husband, Patrick Brady, after being raised by foster parents.

He became obsessed with Nazis, sadism and sexual perversion before meeting Hindley at work.

He impressed her reading Hitler’s Mein Kampf to her in German and the sick pair became inseparable.

From July, 1963 to December, 1964 three of their victims — Pauline Reade, 16, John Kilbride, 12, and young Keith were reported missing. Lesley Ann Downey, ten, then vanished in December 1964.

At this point, Brady and Hindley became intent on recruiting Hindley’s brother-in-law, David Smith.

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On October 6,  1965, Brady killed fifth and final victim Edward Evans, 17,  in front of Mr Smith, hitting him 14 times with a hatchet before strangling him. Horrified Smith called police the next day.

Brady died at high security hospital Ashworth in 2017.  Hindley died in jail in 2002.

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