Episode description

December 26, 1996. Chelmsley Wood, England. 13-year old David Spencer and 11-year old Patrick Warren tell their families that they are planning to spend the night with Patrick’s brother, but they never arrive and are subsequently reported missing. It turns out that the last confirmed sighting of the boys took place at a petrol station and Patrick’s abandoned bicycle is found there next to some rubbish bins. Years later, Brian Field, a sex offender serving time in prison for the murder of another teenage boy, is looked at as a potential suspect in this case, but there is no conclusive evidence to implicate him and the two boys are never found. On this week’s holiday-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a unsolved mystery from the United Kingdom known as the “Milk Carton Kids” case, as this was the first British missing children’s case in which the victim’s faces were featured on milk cartons.

Additional Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Patrick_Warren_and_David_Spencer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38417633

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-37999316

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-57641052

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-57652028

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3139027.stm

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/11/ukcrime.rosiecowan

https://www.newspapers.com/image/849999509/

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/local-news/dig-sites-looked-during-search-24352298

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/special-report-chelmsley-wood-families-167564

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/please-interview-brian-field-before-20882104

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1657754.stm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Roy_Tutill

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“The Trail Went Cold” is doing a weekly livestream show on Vokl every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM ET as part of their “True  Crime Thursday” line-up. For more information, please visit their website.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.