Just listened to the penultimate* report on The Body on the Moor BBC R4
Disturbing yet fascinating story, and we’ll probably never know why he chose this exact spot near Chew reservoir.

* The final report will be made if/when the police identify “Neil”

John Manel’s reports

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/14/mystery-saddleworth-moor-who-was-neil-dovestone

Thanks for the heads up – I’ll listen to that. The above article is also very good.

I live on the edge of Saddleworth Moor (not where my username suggests)and spend a lot of time riding up there. It’s very beautiful and very bleak but not quite as dramatic and dark as the article makes it seem.

Odd story.

Wonder if the MTBer is on here?
… the Park Ranger is a – distant – relation 🙂

Interesting story. Seems a bit odd that he was laid down so nicely, yet strychnine causes horrible convulsions. Almost like someone was with him, then tidied him up a bit once he’d died. I wanna know what happened dammit!

Fascinating read, it’s so sad that someone can die like that, and remain unknown and unmourned.
It’s possible to find the country of origin of bodies via DNA analysis of teeth or bones, or by looking at trace elements in the skeleton from the food and water where the person grew up, which could help to clarify his background.

A bit more information, from a local newspaper. Sadly, not yet identified though.
They obviously followed up CountZero’s suggestion!

As it’s the first anniversary of finding “Neil Dovestone”, BBC R4 have just broadcast an update (sorry, not yet online).

In summary, he’s still not been identified, so the police are waiting for results of “Isotope Analysis” of hair and bone samples. That will indicate where Neil spent his final months (hair) and lived longer-term (bone).

From a search of the fingerprint database, it seems he wasn’t a Pakistani national, despite his leg operation being performed there.

So, this sad mystery continues . . .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38757699

Thanks for the update.

I’m glad they identified him.

very interesting read, remember it at the time, and found it very odd, In the same sense as that RAF young lads gone missing

but totally forgot about it!

so he flew in from Pakistan?? had his plate in his leg done in Pakistan?? had poison from Pakistan??

so lived in Pakistan (albeit a Londoner originally), why on earth end up at dovestones like hes gone specifically to that area to die

theres obviously some connection with him and the area, as I cant see, if you weren’t from around the manc area you’d even know it exists, I mean theres tonnes of other peak district places, along with tonnes of other places inbetween London and Manchester

very very strange indeed!

I listened to those R4 programmes over the last year. It was interesting listening to them explain how they were going about training to identity the corpse.
Good to see they managed to solve the case.

theres obviously some connection with him and the area, as I cant see, if you weren’t from around the manc area you’d even know it exists, I mean theres tonnes of other peak district places, along with tonnes of other places inbetween London and Manchester

he just stuck a pin in a map?

i suspect the answers lie into whatever had happened in pakistan, it seems he had stronger links there

kimbers – Member 

theres obviously some connection with him and the area, as I cant see, if you weren’t from around the manc area you’d even know it exists, I mean theres tonnes of other peak district places, along with tonnes of other places inbetween London and Manchester

he just stuck a pin in a map?
i suspect the answers lie into whatever had happened in pakistan, it seems he had stronger links there

really?!?!? I don’t think that’s the case personally, he had no passport, no luggage no anything with him other than poison, cash and train tickets

totally random to head there I think, theres tonnes of other places, plus he had no map nor anything else found on him, could have easily done the deed in Pakistan or London or any where inbetween

but he chose try and go to the top of the mountain as he called it….

totally bizarre either way

nothing happens without reason. the fella obviously made choices that day and had for some time that brought him on that fateful journey. is nt it a tremendous credit though to the small dedicated team who stuck to the task and identified him in the end that their tenacity has paid off.

Inquest starts this afternoon, into the death of David Lytton (Lautenberg). Though we may never know the full sad story.

ON Channel 4 tomorrow night.

Thanks for that link, Lowey.
The programme suggests why he decided to “check out”, but still no ideas about why he chose Dovestones.
Very sad and very disturbing.

Isn’t it also rather odd that he was found lying in a “peaceful” pose having apparently taken strychnine which causes convulsions?

slowoldman – Member
Isn’t it also rather odd that he was found lying in a “peaceful” pose having apparently taken strychnine which causes convulsions?

After some time rigor would probably relax to the point where the pose would look more peaceful. I’m not a pathologist, so I could easily be wrong, but I do know rigor does relax unless it’s a death cause by burning, in which case the body adopts the ‘pugilistic’ pose.
Enormous credit to the team who kept searching, and finally found out his identity, and allowed his family to have the closure they would never have had otherwise.
The question as to why he ended up there, though, is probably never, ever going to be answered.

There’s a bit more background in this BBC article.