Fresh agony for families of missing ‘Milk Carton Kids’ as police say human remains found on Jaguar Land Rover site CAN’T be the two boys who vanished 24-years ago – because the bones have been there too long
- Patrick Warren, 11, and David Spencer, 13, went missing on Boxing Day in 1996
- Bones were found near where they were seen at the Jaguar Land Rover plant
- Police investigated the link but said the remains pre-date their disappearance
Police today revealed that human remains found on a Jaguar Land Rover site are not thought to be those of the ‘Milk Carton Kids’ who vanished 24 years ago.
Patrick Warren, 11, and David Spencer, 13, disappeared on Boxing Day in 1996 after playing together near their home in Chelmsley Wood, near Birmingham.
Photographs were placed on the back of milk cartons by the National Missing Persons helpline, leading them to be called the ‘Milk Carton Kids’.
Remains were found two weeks ago three miles away by builders working on a new development at the Jaguar Land Rover plant near Birmingham International Airport.
The find two weeks ago raised the hopes of their families that there might be an answer to what happened to Patrick and David.
David’s mother Christine Harvey said she was hoping for closure and for the chance to bury her son and his friend after nearly quarter of a century.
Police who investigated the human remains today said that they think they pre-date Patrick and David going missing, and do not match their ages.
David Spencer (left) and Patrick Warren (right) who both went missing on boxing day 1996
West Midlands Police searched a construction site after human remains were found during excavations for the new Logistics Operations Centre for Jaguar Land Rover
A shopper at Iceland supermarket in Perry Barr, Birmingham, collects a 4 pint milk carton which displays a picture of missing children, in 1997
A map shows where the boys went missing from their homes in Chelmsley Wood compared to the site where bones were discovered, which is close to a field searched by police in 2006
They are not linking them to any other criminal investigation.
A spokesman for West Midlands Police told MailOnline: ‘Bones on land off Damson Parkway, Solihull, found on Wednesday 4 November, are not thought to be those of David Spencer and Patrick Warren, who went missing on Boxing Day 1996.
‘Various scientific tests are required to establish exactly how long the remains have been there which will take several weeks.
‘The bones are not believed to be those of boys of David and Patrick’s age, and we are not currently linking the find to any other existing criminal investigation.
‘We suspect that the bones may pre-date the disappearance of the boys.
The Jaguar Land Rover plant in Birmingham, is just three miles from Chelmsley Wood where Patrick Warren, 11, (right) and his 13-year-old friend David Spencer disappeared in 1996
A blue West Midlands police tent was put up at the site after workers made the grim find
The boys became known as the ‘milk carton kids’ after they were the first children to have their photographs appear on milk cartons in a scheme run by the National Missing Persons Helpline
‘Given the location of the find, we have kept the families of David and Patrick informed, but have told them we are not linking it with their children.’
The update in the case comes as the families of both boys had begun to prepare themselves that the bones were of those of Patrick and David, with Christine Harvey, David’s mother, even starting to think about her son’s funeral.
Patrick’s mother Bridget Warren passed away from cancer five years ago, without ever finding out what happened to her youngest son.
The Mail reported that initial images of the bones which were recovered from the site suggest that they come from two young boys.