by Trevor Baxter
THE IDENTITY of a pensioner found dead on Greenfield’s moors six weeks ago continues to be a mystery to detectives…
But as the search for clues goes on, the Independent, who nicknamed him ‘Chew Track man’ after the place his body was discovered, can reveal he has been named ‘Neil’ by caring police workers.
“The girls at the mortuary have been following the story,” explained Detective Sergeant John Coleman.
“They’ve been concerned about him having no identity. It’s normal to give an abandoned baby a name at a hospital so one of the girls at the hospital named him Neil.
“At least he is now someone with a name until we can formally identify him.”
The teeth of the dead man, who is thought to be aged between 65-75, have now been examined by a forensic odontology specialist in the search for answers.
DS Coleman is hopeful of a breakthrough in the case this weekend when the results of DNA taken from the son of a missing grandfather from Northern Ireland should finally be known.
Hugh Toner, who would now be 78, went missing from an Ulster hospital in 1994 and was never seen again.
The family are unaware of any direct Saddleworth link but Mr Toner spent time in the Swindon and Bath areas.
The family are now waiting to hear from police about results of a DNA test.
“DNA recovered from Mr Toner’s son has been sent off to our forensic science service and we are hopeful of a result one way or other,” explained DS Coleman.
The cop also made a plea to taxi drivers who might have given ‘Neil’ a lift from Manchester Piccadilly train station to Greenfield where he visited The Clarence pub and spoke with landlord Mel Robinson.
Police do not believe he used a bus, tram or onward train from Piccadilly to reach Saddleworth due to the time between known sightings.
“Through Manchester City Council, we have contacted every driver with a licence in the Manchester area and shown them a picture,” explained DS Coleman. “But as yet no one has come forward.”
Previous reports have it that he went to the Fairfield Street station exit, before returning through the concourse and leaving via the main exit towards Piccadilly. Assuming he did travel to Greenfield by taxi, is it not more likely then that having failed to find one on the station rank that would take him out of the city (or any that would was blocked in the queue), he walked down the Station Approach, crossed Ducie Street and tried again at the rank on Piccadilly?
Assuming he didn’t cross to Starbucks side and was successful in getting a cab, the most likely route out of the city looks to be down Piccadilly, past the station on London Street, then left onto Fairfield Street. By that reckoning the cab he was in should have passed the CCTV cameras where the tram lines cross London Street at 1.10-1.15pm, then the cameras at the the station taxi rank exit/bus stop on Fairfield Street shortly after.
I’m guessing GMP will already have done this – if not I would suppose any recorded footage is long-gone by this stage.
I knew Mr Toner very well and would like to add that he also had scars on his back which he showed me at least 35.40 years ago and would be interested if this man who was found on Saddleworth moors had any on his body … I am sure this was checked out but you never know .. hope it helps ..
From the talk of an “anxious wait” last weekend and the lack of any further updates on this story it begins to sound as if it may not be Mr Toner; I’m not sure how this possible identification would have tied in with the description of the man’s accent given by the landlord of the Clarence.
With previous talk of the possibility of him coming in from abroad, it would be interesting/useful to know what the shop/brand labels in his clothes and shoes reveal about his origins. Likewise, whether the cash, tickets and thyroxine pot really were the only things he was carrying – one of the CCTV images from Ealing suggest he also had a handkerchief with him (with an outside possibility that he was peering closely at a crumpled sheet of paper). But I guess GMP will reveal any further details as they feel they need to in order to generate further press interest, which is fair enough.
In the meantime, the best possibility of any new information seems to be the journey from Manchester to Greenfield – if it was by taxi, that’s quite a way to go without engaging in any kind of conversation with the driver.
Now confirmed that DNA of the unidentified man does not match Mr Toner.
I do hope this man is reunited with his family as it such a sad and lonely ending to a human life .. may he rest in peace ..
David Lytton went to live in Pakistan to experience a more austere way of life without the modern trappings of mankind today. Maybe someone learnt about his wealth and set about to rob him of this money – there are many ways that this could be achieved, and the monies he had were a fortune in Pakistan, even in a bank account it would have drawn attention. He lost or gave away the money, or he could have been blackmailed or threatened. In his disillusionment in his new way of life, he returned to England to a reference he found in the Lahore library in a book/atlas, Greenfields – he wanted to take his life in the green fields of England in a quiet spot. The fact that the crags in the valley were called Indian Heads ( he lived near India for a long time !?) Just cemented his plan, and so he set off from a country that had betrayed him to a country he loved and a place where he wanted to die as a gentleman, not bothering anyone – a bit like his life story. There are of course a few other theories – maybe he knew the man from the air crash somehow? But the any other connection to the moors is just a coincidence.