A family whose loved one went missing 56 years ago in a pub restroom has finally got answers to the mystery.
In January 1967, Alfred Swinscoe, 54, was last seen at the Miners Arms pub in Pinxton, Nottinghamshire, UK.
After telling his son to buy a round of drinks at 10:30PM, he stepped outside to use the toilet and was never seen again, per the Express.
For years, speculation swirled that Alfred, recently separated from his wife, had abandoned his family.
However, his son Gary - who was the last person to see him alive - never believed this theory, holding onto the hope that his father might still return.
Gary passed away in 2012 without ever knowing the truth.
A shocking discovery in 2022 would finally bring some resolution.
While browsing social media, Alfred’s grandson, Russell Lowbridge, stumbled upon a police post about human remains found in a field.
To his astonishment, he recognized one of the socks on the body as belonging to his grandfather.
“I suddenly remembered as a kid putting on my granddad's sock and pulling them up so the heel came right up to my knee," Russell recalled, per the Mirror.
"I called the police, and they came to take a DNA swab. That’s when we found out that it really was Alfred. I was shocked and flabbergasted.”
The remains, buried six feet deep in a farmer’s field near Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts, were discovered by chance when the farmer dug a ditch.
The skeleton, still carrying pre-decimal coins in its pockets, bore signs of a brutal murder, with blunt force trauma to the head and sharp force trauma to the jaw.
“They said he fought for his life. There were signs of a broken hand, as if he’d given somebody a good right hook," Russell said.
He continued: "And they found trauma to his ribs and his back, as if he'd been grappling with someone and they'd been punching him in the ribs.”
Police believe Alfred’s body was left exposed for over a week before being buried, with signs that animals had scavenged parts of the remains.
“Whoever killed him went back to make sure he was never found,” Russell added.
The discovery marked a major breakthrough in a case that had been cold for more than 50 years.
But while the inquest into Alfred's death has been adjourned and the police investigation has slowed, Russell is making a public plea for information before the case is closed for good.
Police have identified two potential suspects, one of whom was present at the Miners’ Arms on the night Alfred disappeared.
Known for violence, this individual had previously assaulted others, leading investigators to consider his possible involvement in the murder. However, both suspects have since died, preventing authorities from interrogating them.
Russell recalled family suspicions about one of the suspects: "My uncle had always suspected him. He’d been in battles with him before and always thought he was the prime suspect."
But Russell is less convinced about the second suspect, saying: "I can't bring myself to believe that he was also involved."
In January 2023, Alfred’s family laid him to rest in Sutton-in-Ashfield cemetery, buried alongside his son Gary and his wife Caroline, who never remarried after his disappearance.
"It's some comfort for the family to know he didn't abandon them, and that he's not lost anymore," said Russell.
"But it’s so tragic that poor Uncle Gary never got to find out what happened to him."
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