UK UK - David Spencer, 13, & Patrick Warren, 11, Chelmsley Wood England, 1996

[Jennibee]

They were out so late


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[Pisces Cloud]

The mystery of the Milk Carton Kids

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37999316

 

[grrlinterrupted]

I've been thinking about this case a lot lately as it's local to me. I think it's safe to assume if the boys were abducted then it was by a group - two lads would have been very difficult to control for one offender, unless he had a gun. Someone in Birmingham (or who used to live here) knows something.

 

[Littlegreenlady]

Re-reading the BBC article:

"I've always wondered whether it was treated as [a missing persons case] for as long as it was because they were two boys from a council estate in a poor part of town, who no-one but their families and friends had any sympathy for."

He pauses.

"I would like to think that isn't true and I would like to hope that's just my opinion. But it was always one of the things that was in the back of my mind."

I would say it absolutely is true. So many cases in the UK where the police didn't take things seriously because the victims were poor/black/prostitutes/women - I think that kind of bigotry was rife in the police at the time and did influence the investigation. MOO

 

[chimpface]

Thanks for posting this, I know of this case personally. In my opinion the red bike is interesting. The lad was over the moon to get it and knew he'd be in trouble if he lost it, Im surprised he left it at the side of the Shell garage. I do wonder if someone moved it - ie, if the lads were snatched the bike may have been taken to the garage then. Alternatively if he did leave it there I would say he expected to be back in a few minutes. The garage worker said they saw the lads heading towards the shopping centre. Doesnt say if this is with or without the bike!! I think either they were put into a van (and they would have fought like crazy so it would have to be more than one attacker) OR they decided to have an adventure and hitchhike somewhere...this is when they got picked up by the wrong person. Im also wondering if they met up with people who appeared to be exciting (to them, at their age) youngish homeless people with access to a squat; who they went along with for the adventure. Paddy and David were used to having all-nighters, walking around wanting a bit of excitement. Anyone on the fringes of society might have appealed as interesting to the boys. In only one report I have read about an Atherstone link (a farm worker found 2 boys sleeping rough in a disused stable, and also a worker at Greggs gave the lads free cakes), was this them?? If so they may have been on the way to London -or got mixed up with the wrong sort in Atherstone, which despite being small does have its hidden problems.

Hi Romany,

Do you have a link to where you read the parts bolded in your post I have quoted above?

I am Atherstone born and bred and I've never heard of this link before. It's also worth mentioning a Greggs only opened in this town circa 2006/2007 and this would have been ten years before.

 

[martin123]

I've been thinking about this case a lot lately as it's local to me. I think it's safe to assume if the boys were abducted then it was by a group - two lads would have been very difficult to control for one offender, unless he had a gun. Someone in Birmingham (or who used to live here) knows something.

The most likely suspect is Brian lunn field, he may of offered them a lift somewhere and once they got In the car he turned nasty, he did this to two boys and has a string of violent offences against boys including the murder of Roy tutil.

 

[grrlinterrupted]

The most likely suspect is Brian lunn field, he may of offered them a lift somewhere and once they got In the car he turned nasty, he did this to two boys and has a string of violent offences against boys including the murder of Roy tutil.

I have read bits about his potential involvement, but I'm not sure tbh. He seemed to willing to talk about how he murdered Roy Tuthill. Why would he not want to brag about these boys, too?

Not saying he didn't do it - he certainly seems the best suspect - but obviously the police don't have anything solid to go on.

 

[Mrs Marple]

I remember this at the time. I recall it being very serious and l got the impression from the media coverage the boys had been taken, even as a 9 year old. However it was a different time then. Kids didn't have the rights they do today. We had no idea paedophilia is as prevalent as it seems to be today. Or maybe perception of the risk has changed.

 

[Al Ka]

ANNIVERSARY APPEAL - DAVID SPENCER & PATRICK WARREN

It is 22yrs today since the two boys went missing together from Chelmsley Wood in Solihull, West Midlands. Please keep their families in your thoughts

On Boxing Day evening, 26 December 1996, best friends 11yr old Patrick Warren and 12yr old David Spencer left their respective homes, having told their parents they were staying at Patrick’s brother’s house for the night.

When the family realised the boys hadn’t arrived at their destination, Derek Warren, Patrick’s brother went out looking for them and reported them missing. It was quickly established that a police officer had spoken to them the previous afternoon to warn them of the dangers of playing on a frozen pond at Meriden Park. The initial thought was the boys were just hiding and the opinion was they were “lads being lads”. This consensus has unfortunately become a popular stance when boys and young adult males go missing.

It became more evident that foul-play was suspected, especially as Patrick’s treasured Christmas present had been left abandoned. Despite hundreds of appeals from family and West Midlands Police, no traces of them have ever been found. They have appeared on Crimewatch special reports, with lots of TV appearances by their families. Over the years numerous sightings have been reported, but we never corroborated.

In 2003 it was reported that detectives had received an anonymous letter 18 months previously. The letter was traced to Winson Green Prison in Birmingham and implied the boys were buried in Woodgate Valley. However, a police search did not find them. A 37yr old man was arrested, but was later bailed and was not formally charged with their abduction.

The boys were the first to appear on Missing People campaign to feature missing children on milk cartons. This scheme had proven very successful in America, but unfortunately no new leads came forward.

In 2001, Brian Field was convicted of the murder of 14yr old Roy Tutill who had disappeared in 1968 in Surrey. When re-examining the boys case in 2006, police realised he had lived in the area in Chelmsley Wood area in 1996. Detectives went to visit him at Full Sutton prison in York, but he denied any involvement. Police intelligence suggested the boys may have been buried in Old Damson Lane, Soluhill, where Brian Field was known to have dumped garden waste at the time. Specialist officers helped by Professor John Hunter, a forensic archaeologist performed a thorough excavation, but nothing was found.

On the fifteenth anniversary of Patrick & David’s disappearance, the Birmingham Post featured a special report:

Special Report: Chelmsley Wood families of David Spencer and Patrick Warren tell of 15-year anguish

In 2015, Prof. David Wilson, a criminologist at Birmingham University concluded he believes Brian Field is responsible for the boys deaths after police changed the case to a murder enquiry. He spoke to the Daily Express:

Child sex killer may never solve riddle of missing schoolboys who vanished 19 years ago

On the 20th anniversary of their disappearance, Lee O’Toole, David’s brother made a heartfelt plea to continue looking for his brother and his friend. Over the Christmas period most media outlets published articles about re-investigation of their case. The police have re-opened the case codenamed Operation Stenley. For more information please visit:

West Midlands Police

The Mystery of the Milk Carton Kids:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37999316

Missing People Appeal - Patrick Warren:
https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/h…/patrick-warren-97-000329

Missing People Appeal - David Spencer:
https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/he…/david-spencer-97-000328

#MilkCartonKids #OpStenley #DamiensLaw

 

[Tortoise]

Human remains found near where Birmingham boys went missing in 1994 | Daily Mail Online

[year/date typo in headline]

Police have found human bones at a building site just three miles from the spot where two boys vanished 24 years ago, MailOnline can reveal.

Detectives are digging at the new site for the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Birmingham, near to where Patrick Warren and David Spencer disappeared in 1996.

West Midlands Police cordoned off the site after builders made the grim find on Wednesday.

'The bones will undergo forensic and archaeological analysis,' a police spokesman said today.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Duplicate post

 

[Mellowmelly]

Human remains found near where Birmingham boys went missing in 1994 | Daily Mail Online

[year/date typo in headline]

Police have found human bones at a building site just three miles from the spot where two boys vanished 24 years ago, MailOnline can reveal.

Detectives are digging at the new site for the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Birmingham, near to where Patrick Warren and David Spencer disappeared in 1996.

West Midlands Police cordoned off the site after builders made the grim find on Wednesday.

'The bones will undergo forensic and archaeological analysis,' a police spokesman said today.

I hope this is the boys remains, as bad as that sounds, for the sake of their families and so they can finally be laid to rest.

 

[RobinCAL]

I really hope this is them, their family deserve some sort of peace and closure.

I've created a thread for the discovery in case something else comes of it.

UK - West Midlands. Human remains found near a Land Rover factory, 4th November 2020.

 

[Al Ka]

Just adding their photo again as previous had time out by now

11-year-old Patrick Warren and 13-year-old David Spencer disappeared just after Christmas, on Boxing day in 1996. David is on the left and Patrick on the right

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I'll be following.
What a tragedy, the missing boys and lack of LE immediately treating it as a possible crime. They were too young to really "run away" and too vulnerable for LE to not take it seriously.
It sounds like they were kidnapped together. Of course nowadays we've heard of multiple cases of 2 children being abducted together.
I hope whomever was found, they are quickly identified to provide their family or families with answers.
All my own speculation and opinions.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

So these bones have been found pretty much on the same road that Field was known to dump rubbish?

 

[Mellowmelly]

So these bones have been found pretty much on the same road that Field was known to dump rubbish?

I think so yes. The media coverage of the remains has gone quiet since it was reported. I expect they will be doing DNA tests, which will no doubt be a lengthy process. I really hope it is them, it has been too long now for their families and living not too far from there, I've always wondered what happened to them.

 

[agapoyesoun]

Police not linking human remains to hunt for missing schoolboys

 

[Tortoise]

That's incredible! Unless they are just putting on a show of being openminded until they get the results back.

The statement was actually "not currently linking" but the word 'currently' has been left out of the header.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Police not linking human remains to hunt for missing schoolboys

What struck me from this article- police questioned BF who had been fined in 1982 for abusing a 17-year-old. Fined! .

The justice system fails assault and rape victims everywhere.

I feel the police are just being careful what they say until they have test results back.

All MOO.