Mystery surrounds death of man whose body was found on edge of the Peak District

The death of a man whose body was found on the edge of the Peak District has been baffling detectives for more than a month.
The man was captured on CCTV at Manchester Piccadilly train station on December 11.The man was captured on CCTV at Manchester Piccadilly train station on December 11.
The man was captured on CCTV at Manchester Piccadilly train station on December 11.

Officers have carried out extensive investigations but are still no closer to discovering the man’s identity or why he was in the area.

So far, their research has revealed that he arrived at Manchester Piccadilly train station on December 11. His body was found the following day near the Dovestones Reservoir in Oldham.

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When his body was searched, he was found to be carrying money and three train tickets. One was from Ealing train station to London Euston which was bought at 9.04am on December 11 and the other tickets were return from Euston to Piccadilly, bought at 9.50am the same day.

Officers have not been able to establish whether the man was local, or was visiting the area, but it has been reported that he visited the Clarence pub in Greenfield, Saddleworth, on the afternoon on December 11 asking ‘how do you get to the top of that mountain’ - pointing to a peak above the reservoir known as Indian’s Head.

Witnesses spotted him walking up a steep track later that afternoon and his body was found the following morning. There were no apparent injuries or marks and police do not believe his death was suspicious.

Detective Inspector Ian Harratt said: “Although we have had several phone calls from people with possible identification for the deceased man from missing people around the country, which we are very grateful for, we have been able to rule these out as they are not the same person.

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“The area where the man was found is extremely remote and is used by walkers, engineers and rangers for the park.

“What we know is he was last seen at around 4.30pm on Friday December 11 2015 on the track near to where he was found and would appeal to anyone with information to contact us.”

The man is described as being white, of slim build, with a receding hairline with grey hair to the side and back. He had a large nose which may have been previously broken and was clean shaven. He wore a brown heavy jacket, blue jumper, white long sleeve shirt, blue corduroy trousers and black slip-on shoes.

Anyone with any information should contact Greater Manchester Police on 0161 856 8972 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.