One of Your Own Read Online Free Page B

bundle onto his shoulder and made his way up and over the rocks until he was out of sight. I waited for him in the [car].’ 16 Ian returned to the car for a spade, burying Lesley just behind the jutting rocks, on a part of the moor known as Higher Wildcat Lowe. When he reappeared at the roadside, pushing the spade into the back of the car, he told Myra that he’d buried Lesley’s clothes with her in the grave, at the child’s feet. 17 They drove home, and Ian washed the spade before making a start on dinner. At half past ten, they arrived in Dukinfield to collect Gran. Elsie popped in later and Ian left to visit his mother in Longsight. He didn’t return to Hattersley that evening but was probably aware of the extensive search taking place in Ancoats for Lesley since it was reported on the local news and in the press. The fairground had been torn apart by detectives, who aimed to interview every visitor. Crofts, empty houses and abandoned factories were scrutinised and the canal dredged.
    On Monday, 28 December, the Manchester Evening News picked up the story: ‘Tracker Dogs Join Giant Search for Girl.’ 18 The following day, Millwards opened for the first time since the holidays and Tom Craig recalled that Ian and Myra turned up for work as usual, and that Ian kept asking after his daughter – whose name happened to be Lesley Ann. On 30 December, Lesley’s friend Linda Clarke appeared on the Granada television children’s programme The Headliners as part of the appeal. The Manchester Evening News kept the story on its front page, noting that police also feared the worst for a 15-year-old girl called Diane Minham, who went missing on Christmas Eve on her way home from a dance in another area. On New Year’s Eve, the Manchester Evening News reported: ‘Lesley: 100 Police with Dogs in Big Hunt’. 19 Six thousand posters bearing Lesley’s image had been printed, along with five thousand flyers to be handed out in cafes, pubs, shops, etc. Lesley’s Uncle Patrick had 200 posters printed at his own expense and distributed them personally. Over 6,000 people were interviewed and the search spread out. Sightings of Lesley came in from Blackpool to Belgium.
    Myra and Ian saw in the New Year at Wiles Street, partying with Maureen and Dave, Bob and Nellie. Ian had brought along whisky, wine and rum, and was in jocular mood, kissing Maureen on the cheek to wish her luck in 1965, even stroking baby Angela Dawn’s soft hair. On New Year’s Day, the Gorton & Openshaw Reporter devoted most of its front page to the inquiry: ‘Have You Seen 10 Year Old Lesley? Big Search for Lost Girl’. 20 The article mentioned the disappearances of Pauline Reade, John Kilbride and Keith Bennett. Myra bought the newspaper herself, and when Patty Hodges visited them that morning, Ian’s tape recorder picked up the ensuing conversation. 21 Between idle chatter about Paul McCartney, telly, Sandie Shaw’s hairdo, Ready Steady Go! and confusion on Patty’s part over how to pronounce ‘omelette’, Myra drew her attention to the search for Lesley:
    Myra: ‘Want to read the paper? Do you ever get that – to read all about the news?’
    Patty: ‘Is it about Gorton?’
    Myra: ‘Gorton, Openshaw, Ardwick, Bradford, Clayton and all over.’
    Patty: ‘You see that girl [Lesley] at Ancoats?’
    Myra: ‘Yes – just now.’
    Patty: ‘She lives near my friend.’
    Myra: ‘She lives near her house?’
    Patty: ‘Yes.’
    Myra: ‘Did she know her?’
    Patty: ‘I don’t know.’ 22
    Ian and Myra retained the recording among their ‘souvenirs’.
    The search for Lesley continued, with policewomen visiting schools to warn children about Stranger Danger. Alan West was eliminated from police inquiries after a series of harrowing interviews and a thorough search of the family home at Charnley Walk. Ann kept her daughter’s bedroom exactly as she had left it, with Lesley’s dolls Patsy and Lynn slumped next to each other on the bed. Mary Waugh, who