A NEW search has started for Moors murder victim Keith Bennett – funded by well-wishers.

Search and rescue experts were on the bleak moors between Holmfirth and Oldham yesterday – and admitted they could be there for many months.

They are looking for the remains of the 12-year-old boy killed by Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

But their chances are slim. A huge police operation, using sophisticated technology, was made in 1987 but without success.

The new search for Keith, who was snatched as he made his way to his grandmother’s house in Longsight in 1964, has brought renewed hope for his grieving mother, Winnie Johnson, 76.

Since police officially abandoned the search for the body last year, hundreds of people have donated to help pay for a new search.

The search team’s task is painstaking and time-consuming. Specialist dogs and dog-handlers use methodical processes to sift through areas of ground, which are separated into grids to ensure not the smallest patch is left unchecked.

Led by David Jones, the joint team of volunteers from Global Rescue Services and the International Rescue Training Centre in Wales start by marking out a square area of 20 metres by 20 metres with blue string.

That square is then divided into strips one metre wide. The team push metre-long sticks into the ground at distances of 50cm apart in a process called “probing”.

This releases gases from the peat which the dogs are able to sniff as they look for odours which could indicate the presence a decomposed body.

The team in the search for Keith yesterday had four people probing the ground, with one dog searching, which makes the process quicker.

Leader David Jones said: “It’s trying to prioritise those sites, and finish each site before we go on to the next site.

“We could find something this week, or it could be a year off.”

Mrs Johnson has been unable to hold a funeral for her son as his body has never been found, but earlier this month she paid tribute to her son at a special memorial service.

Breaking down in tears, she said: “I’m Keith’s mother... he’s there on the Moors, I want him back.

“It’s very hard to do what I have done. In a way I’m proud of myself because I know each of you people are hoping for Keith to be found but nobody more than me wants him found.”

Brady and Hindley’s other child victims include Pauline Reade, 16, who disappeared on her way to a disco on July 12, 1963. Her body was found when police renewed their searches on the moors in the 1980s.

The evil pair also murdered John Kilbride, 12, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, and Edward Evans, 17.

Brady was given life at Chester Assizes in 1966 for the murders of John, Lesley Ann and Edward. Hindley was convicted of killing Lesley Ann and Edward and shielding Brady after John’s murder, and jailed for life.

Hindley died in jail in November 2002, aged 60.

Brady has spent the last 25 years at high-security Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside.